Work to build Zhiyuan warship replica begins

A shipbuilding company in Liaoning province is making a replica of a warship that was sunk during a Sino-Japanese naval battle more than a century ago, using funds from local businesses and individuals.

Dandong Shipbuilding Industry Corp started work on the Zhiyuan on May 5 and plans to finish an undecorated vessel in September. The replica will not have boilers or an engine.

The original warship was made in a British shipyard about 130 years ago and was sunk during the Sino-Japanese War on Sept 17, 1894, in the Yellow Sea near Dandong. The war was from July 25, 1894, to April 17, 1895.