The Ning Hai class were a pair of light cruisers in the Chinese fleet before World War II.

'Peaceful Seas'), the lead ship of the class, was laid down in Japan while the follow-on, Ping Hai (Chinese: 平海; lit.

Both served as flagships of the Republic of China Navy (ROCN), with Ping Hai taking over the role from its older sister ship since April 1937.

Their high centres of gravity, a common flaw to numerous Japanese-designed warships of the era, made the ships unstable in heavy seas.

Their use of obsolescent triple-expansion engines, dictated by building cost considerations, kept their maximum speed at around 21–23 knots (39–43 km/h; 24–26 mph).