Replica Chinese battleship to commemorate Sino-Japanese War

One of the grander ways in which China is commemorating the 120th anniversary of the First Sino-Japanese War this year is by building a replica of a battleship made legendary in the conflict.

On Thursday, one day before August 1, the date on which China and Japan declared war on each other in 1894, descendants of the conflict's veterans visited the port city of Dandong in the eastern Liaoning Province, where the ship is being built and will eventually be moored.

Modeled on armored cruiser Zhiyuan and costing about 37 million yuan (about 6 million U.S. dollars), it is due to be finished in mid-September. The vessel, which stretches 81.38 meters long and 11.58 meters wide, is entirely privately funded.

The Yellow Sea Battle in September 1894 was seen by many as a turning point in the war, which China went onto lose. China lost five battleships, including the Zhiyuan, in the Yellow Sea Battle.

The Zhiyuan, completed in the UK in 1887, was captained by Deng Shichang.

When its ammunition was used up, 45-year-old Deng ordered a seemingly suicidal attempt to ram a Japanese battleship. Before that order could be carried out, a torpedo hit Zhiyuan and Deng fell into the sea. He decided to go down with his ship and refused to be rescued. At least 246 of the crew died, with only seven others surviving.

Deng's tomb is on Dalu Island off Dandong, about 16.9 km away from where the ship sunk.

The team building the replica went to see the original plans in the UK. More than 200 people started construction on May 5 this year.

While not seaworthy, it will be open for visits.

"I have seen photos of the cruiser in the past," said Liu Jingrui, great granddaughter of Liu Guanxiong, executive officer of another First Sino-Japanese War battleship, the Jingyuan. "Hopefully this replica can help us remember the war. We should learn a lesson from it."