In the summer of 1882, when China began to challenge French expansion in Tonkin, the Guangdong Fleet was commanded by Wu Quanmei (吳全美).

Although the identity of these vessels is not entirely certain, they seem to have included the wooden steamships Feilong (飛龍), Tianjin (天津), Zhenhai (鎮海), Anlan (安瀾) and Zhentao (鎮濤), and the composite gunboats Guangdong (廣東) and Shandong (山東), completed at Dumbarton in 1868.

[6] Five composite 150-ton gunboats were completed at the Canton Dockyard in 1881 for the Guangdong fleet: Jing'an (靖安), Henghai (橫海), Xiangyun (祥云), Xuanwei (宣威) and Yangwu (揚武).

[7] In the wake of the seizure of the citadel of Hanoi in April 1882 by Henri Rivière, the Qing government decided to send a message to France that China viewed French colonial expansion in Tonkin with concern.

[10] Two 64-ton first class steam torpedo boats, Leihu (雷虎) and Leilong (雷龍), were completed for the Guangdong Fleet at the Vulcan works at Stettin in 1884, but their delivery to China was delayed for a year because of the outbreak of the Sino-French War.

Like their larger predecessors built at the Vulcan works in Stettin, they all contained the character lei (雷, thunder) in their names: Leidui (雷兑), Leiqian (雷乾), Leikan (雷坎), Leikun (雷坤), Leili (雷離), Leigen (雷艮), Leixun (雷巽), Leizhen (雷震) and Leizhong (雷中).

[12] One composite cruiser and three steel torpedo boats were built at the Foochow Navy Yard for the Guangdong Fleet between 1887 and 1892, named respectively Guangjia, Guangyi, Guangbing and Guangding ('Guangdong A, B, C and D').

[13] The Foochow Navy Yard also supplied the Guangdong Fleet with four shallow-draught wooden gunboats at about the same period: Guanggeng, Guangxing, Guangzhen and Guangkui.