At the time of her explosion during the Chinese Civil War, she was bound for Ningbo from Shanghai's Shiliupu Dock.

With an estimated death toll of between 2,750 and as many as 4,000 people,[1][2] with 700 survivors being picked up by other vessels,[3] it remains the second deadliest peacetime maritime disaster in history.

The hull of the Kiangya had broken in half but, in 1956, the two pieces were removed in order to dredge that area of the river.

The ship's wooden steering wheel is preserved at the East Zhejiang Maritime Affairs and Folk Customs Museum in Ningbo.

The ship gave her name to Jiangya Nansha, one of the component shoals of Jiuduansha off eastern Shanghai.