Former Site Memorial of the Beiyang Fleet Dagukou Dock

　　The Beiyang Fleet Dagukou Dock is a key cultural relic protection unit and a patriotic education base in Tianjin. With a history of over 120 years, it was the third modern shipyard in China after the Mawei Shipyard in Fujian and the Jiangnan Dockyard in Shanghai, as well as the earliest shipbuilding and repair facility and an important military-industrial base in northern China. In 1880, Li Hongzhang petitioned Emperor Guangxu and received approval to establish the “Beiyang Fleet Dagukou Dock” in Dagukou. The site chosen was near the Temple of the Sea God (now the Tianjin Shipyard), which people at the time called the “Temple of the Sea God Dock,” later known as the “Dagukou Dock.” During the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95, which shocked both China and the world, the dock, together with the patriotic officers and soldiers of the Beiyang Fleet, contributed to resisting foreign aggression, safeguarding national dignity, strengthening coastal defenses, and promptly repairing and building warships for the Beiyang Fleet.

　　In 1886, China’s first submarine was successfully developed here and used for maritime defense. After 1890, in addition to continuing to repair and build ships, the dock began producing weaponry. In 1891, it manufactured over ninety 1-pound breech-loading guns modeled after German designs. In 1892, a gun repair workshop was set up in the dock compound along with a mine production facility. Most of the naval mines deployed in the Dagukou waters were produced at this factory. From then on, the Dagukou Dock became a comprehensive military base for ship repair, construction, and weaponry production.

　　The Former Site Memorial of the Beiyang Fleet Dagukou Dock was built to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the dock’s establishment. It showcases the significant role the dock played in history and its development over the past 120 years. The memorial also houses imported machine tools from the early days of the dock’s founding, ship compasses, defensive bricks from Dagukou, as well as the original factory buildings preserved to this day, two century-old poplar trees personally planted by Li Hongzhang, and other historical remains—recreating the original appearance of the hundred-year-old dock.

　　The Former Site of the Beiyang Fleet Dagukou Dock is not only a testament to the Chinese nation’s struggle against foreign aggression and fight to protect the homeland, but also a microcosm of China’s modern history over the past century. It reminds us from one perspective that “backwardness invites aggression, and development is the hard truth.” Only by promoting this spirit of patriotism and striving forward with unyielding determination can we stand firm among the nations of the world.