Former Site of Jinling Arsenal

Former Site of Jinling Arsenal

The former site of Jinling Arsenal is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The predecessor of Jinling Arsenal was the Jinling Machinery Manufacturing Bureau, established in 1865. During the late Qing Dynasty, the Jinling Machinery Manufacturing Bureau was as renowned as the Jiangnan Machinery Manufacturing Bureau in Shanghai (founded in the same year), the Fuzhou Shipyard (founded in 1866), and the Tianjin Machinery Manufacturing Bureau (founded in 1867). It was one of the four major military industrial enterprises founded during China’s Self-Strengthening Movement in the 1860s. The factory experienced three historical periods: the late Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China, and the People’s Republic of China. The Jinling Machinery Manufacturing Bureau (today’s predecessor of Nanjing Morning Light Machinery Manufacturing Plant) was born in the fourth year of the Tongzhi reign (1865).

In May 1865 (the fourth year of the Tongzhi reign), Li Hongzhang, acting as the Viceroy of Liangjiang, relocated his camp to Nanjing. On the ruins of the West Tian Temple, east of Saozi Lane outside Jubao Gate (now Zhonghua Gate), he built factory buildings to establish the Jinling Manufacturing Bureau, also known as the Jinling Machinery Bureau or simply the Ning Bureau. Construction was completed in August 1866, and in December, the Suzhou Foreign Gun Bureau was moved in. Liu Zuoyu served as the general manager, and Macartney as the superintendent. The bureau set up a machinery workshop, a foundry, an ironworks, and a carpentry shop, manufacturing shrapnel, rifles, and percussion caps, among other products. At the time of production launch, there were about 400 employees and workers.

In 1888, the Ning Bureau successfully replicated the Maxim single-barrel machine gun (also called the Sai Dian Gun), which was the first generation of heavy machine gun made in China.

In 1937, Jinling Arsenal had 4,000 employees. When the Battle of Shanghai broke out on August 13, Japanese aircraft repeatedly bombed the capital, Nanjing, and the arsenal was hit several times, resulting in losses of equipment and personnel. In mid-September, it was ordered to relocate the ammunition factory westward to Chongqing, where it merged with the Sichuan First Arsenal (later renamed Factory 20). On November 15, it was further ordered to relocate all remaining parts of the factory westward. Within ten days, over 5,000 tons of machinery, materials, and supplies were transported to Hankou via train, truck, ship, and wooden boat along four routes. On December 1, the factory director led all employees to evacuate Nanjing completely. Another 60-plus tons of miscellaneous items that could not be transported in time were shipped on wooden boats starting December 6 under the escort of Yao Zhiliang. The Japanese army occupied Nanjing on December 13.

In May 2013, the State Council (State Council Document [2013] No. 13) announced the former site of Jinling Arsenal as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Yuhua Road Community: The Yuhua Road Community Residents' Committee is located in the southern part of Zhonghua Gate Subdistrict, bordering the Grand Bao'en Temple to the east, the Yuhuatai Martyrs' Cemetery to the south, the Zhonghua Gate Long-Distance Bus Station to the west, and Zhonghua Gate Fortress to the north. Covering an area of approximately 0.3 square kilometers, it has 12 streets and lanes, five resident units, seven residential buildings, and mostly consists of single-story houses facing old city renovation. The community has a total population of 7,458 people across 3,690 households; the permanent population includes 1,724 households and 3,380 people; there are 895 demolished vacant households with 1,743 people, 321 residing households with 486 people, and 750 floating households with 1,849... Detailed information about Yuhua Road Community++

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units