In 1911, the foundation stone laid by Aixin Jueluo Nurhachi on horseback and lasted for nearly 300 years The Qing Dynasty came to the end of its life. It was in this year that the Chinese Navy left a historical trail on the blue planet.

April 21. Shanghai. Huangpu River Yangshupu Wharf anchorage. A modern cruiser with a displacement of 4300 tons set sail. On the right-hand bulwark of the newly painted bow of the ship, two bronze cast Chinese character ship names: Haiqi.

The Haiqi was one of the two large cruisers purchased by the Qing Dynasty after the First Sino-Japanese Naval War, and was known as the first ship of the Chinese Navy. This voyage will carry out an unprecedented and major diplomatic mission: to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, to attend the coronation of King George V, and to visit the United States and Cuba.

It lasted more than 400 days, passing through 14 ports in 8 countries, with a total voyage of 30,850 nautical miles. This is a unique stroke in the history of China's military diplomacy and naval voyages, extending from the birth of the Chinese Navy in 1866 to the last threshold of the 20th century in 2000.

drizzle and foggy; The whistle whistles and the engine spins. The officers and men of the Haiqi ship played a majestic blue symphony. Little did they know, however, that it was a tune-shifting piece: half Requiem, half Ode to Joy.

Thirteen months later, when they returned to their home port, the yellow green dragon flag on the mast had already been replaced by a red, yellow, blue, white, and black flag. The Qing Empire collapsed and the Republic of China was born.

The reason for the visit of the cruiser "Haiqi".

A modern history of China is a history of the Chinese nation's maritime humiliation. The decadent and backward consciousness and policy of forbidding the sea and closing off the territory and closing off the country have turned the rippling China Sea into a prostitute to be ravaged by others, and the warships of Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Russia, Italy, and Japan are rampant here.

If you fall behind, you will be beaten. This is the painful conclusion drawn by the Chinese nation from the roar of imperialist ships and cannons after being reparated for the cession of land, the opening of the door, and the loss of sea power.

The decaying and fallen Celestial Empire has risen a blue dream. However, this infant dream of a great power navy was slaughtered by the Western powers. In 1884, in the Sino-French Battle of Mawei, 11 ships of the Fujian Navy were wiped out by the enemy within half an hour; In 1894, in the Sino-Japanese First Sino-Japanese Naval War, the Beiyang Navy, which had just been in force for six years, was completely annihilated.

After the defeat of the First Sino-Japanese War, the rulers of the Qing Dynasty were eager to reorganize coastal defense and rebuild the navy, and from 1895, they ordered 43 large and small warships from Britain, Germany and other countries. The cruiser Haiqi was the largest tonnage and best-equipped warship in the world.

The cruiser Haiqi, also known as the "Dome Clipper" at that time, was built by the British Armstrong Shipbuilding Co, with a total cost of 328242 pounds, a displacement of 4,300 tons, a length of 132.3 meters, a width of 14.3 meters, a draft of 6.1 meters, a maximum speed of 24 knots per hour, and a horsepower of 17,000 horsepower. The ship is armed with 34 naval guns of various calibers and 7 torpedo launchers.

Construction began in May 1896, launched in 1898, and sailed home from England in 1899. The cruiser Haitian, which was purchased from Britain at the same time, can be called sister ships with the Haiqi ship. In addition, the three 2,000-ton light cruisers ordered from Germany were named "Hairong", "Haichou" and "Haichen" respectively.

Haiqi's "Qi" word in the eyes of today's people, quite rare, after consulting the "Kangxi Dictionary" and "Cihai", "Qi" is a polyphonic word, one sound Q-, one sound Y-N. Its meaning is "boundary", "shore", the second is "Qi", "Qi" interpretation is "Qi", the third is the land of thousands of miles around the capital, and the fourth is connected with "Yin", which contains the meaning of "marginal". To sum up, it can be seen that the naming of the Haiqi ship not only symbolizes the boundless meaning of the vast sea area under China's jurisdiction, but also contains the all-encompassing power of this ship for nautical cruising and coastal defense. It is perfectly integrated with the name of its sister ship, the cruiser Haitian.

The main purpose of the visit was to celebrate the coronation of King George V. According to the records of the Xuantong government of the Qing Dynasty, in December of the second year of Xuantong (1910 AD), the Qing court issued an order to the prime minister Yamen: "Next May is the coronation period of the British monarch, and the general of Zhenguo with the title of Bei Zi will be sent to congratulate the first special envoy and minister to renew diplomatic relations." At the beginning of March of the third year of Xuantong, the Minister of the Navy Zaixun played: "The coronation of the British emperor, the big parade of ships, it is planned to send Cheng Biguang, commander of the cruiser, to lead the Haiqi cruiser to pay respect." "The court is ready to play.

The coronation of King George V was celebrated on June 22, 1911. In addition to sending special envoys to congratulate them, the Qing government also sent ships to participate in the fleet's naval review ceremony. Its high standard and longevity are unique exceptions in the diplomatic history of the Qing Dynasty for more than 260 years.

Cheng Biguang, commander of the Qing Navy's cruiser fleet with the Haiqi ship as the flagship, immediately supervised the ship to set sail from Xiangshan Port in Zhejiang Province to Shanghai after receiving the order to lead the ship abroad, and urgently made preparations for sailing.

Cheng Biguang, a native of Guangdong, graduated from the fifth phase of the driving class of Mawei Shipbuilding School. In 1909 (the first year of Xuantong), he served as the commander of the cruiser. In 1917, he served as the chief of the navy of the military government of the Republic of China, and on February 26, 1918, he was assassinated in Guangzhou and was awarded the rank of admiral by the Beiyang government.

Tang Tingguang, a native of Guangdong, graduated from the first driving class of the Huangpu Naval Academy. In 1921, Sun Yat-sen was inaugurated as the president of the very large and promoted Tang to the post of Minister of the Navy.

The Haiqi ship is equipped with a helper belt, chief officer, chief officer, chief officer of pilot, chief officer of guns, chief officer of food and salary, first mate, second officer and third officer of torpedo, chief officer of traditional Chinese medicine, officer of western medicine, chief and deputy electrical officer, chief engineer wheel, chief engineer wheel, and second engineer with a total of 24 people. In addition, because Cheng Biguang was stationed on the ship, 3 staff officers, adjutants, and English secretaries were added. In addition, 16 trainees from Yantai Naval School and Mawei Naval School are under the supervision of a chief officer and an instructor officer who are temporarily supernumerary. In total, there are about 450 officers and men on the ship. During the period of going abroad, all the officers, students, and soldiers of the ship received double salaries twice as much as those in China on a monthly basis, and the military uniforms were made in imitation of the British Navy. Considering that the monthly salary of the students of the sea school is only 14~18 taels (each tael is equivalent to 1.4 silver dollars), an additional set of summer casual clothes will be issued to each student in case they need to go ashore for social excursions.

Back to my parents' home: from Shanghai to Portsmouth

April 21, 1911. At 2:30 p.m., the Haiqi ship set sail from the Yangshupu anchorage in Shanghai, starting the blue journey of the first circumnavigation of the Chinese Navy in modern times.

The ship exited the mouth of the Yangtze River into the East China Sea, crossed the Taiwan Strait, sailed straight out of the South China Sea, crossed the Strait of Malacca into the Indian Ocean, entered the Red Sea through the Gulf of Aden, crossed the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean, and entered the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar.

During the long voyage of more than 10,000 nautical miles across three oceans, the ship visited the five major seaports of Singapore, Colombo, Aden, Port Said, and Gibraltar for a short pause of one to three days for replenishment. After entering the Atlantic, the ship headed north along the east coast of the ocean, entered the English Channel, and first sailed into the port of Plymouth. Here, the ship anchored for two weeks, and on June 20, it finally arrived at the Portsmouth Military Port, moored at the Spithead anchorage outside the harbor, and waited for the multinational naval formation to review at sea.

From Shanghai to Portsmouth, the voyage was 10,470 nautical miles and lasted nearly two months. Since all the ports along the way were British, all the entry and exit procedures, mooring berths, supplementary purchases, and the disembarkation of officers and men to negotiate official business and sightseeing were all arranged in advance by the British Navy.

On the eve of the Haiqi ship leaving the country, Cheng Biguang, the commander of the fleet, ignored the laws of the Celestial Empire, and cut off the long braid that all the officers and cadets of the Naval Academy dragged behind their heads with an order.

"Since the costume is imitated from the British system, it is obviously not in the middle of the West to keep a braid." Commander Cheng explained. This move caused a strong reaction throughout the ship, and many young sailors also clamored for the same rights as officers and students, and implored Commander Cheng to order them to be allowed to cut their braids.

On the same day, the ship departed from the port of Singapore and sailed for Colombo. On the way, Commander Cheng ordered the ship's duty officer to gather all the sailors on the back deck and officially issued an order on cutting off the braids of the sailors. Cheng Commander admonished: "Chinese people began to keep their hair in the Ming Dynasty, but there are no braids; Since the development of braids in the Qing Dynasty, it has a history of more than 200 years. However, the long hair and dirty clothes are not only unhygienic, but also hinder movement, especially the accidental harm of naval personnel, so there is no value to be reserved. For this reason, the Commander-in-Chief decrees that from now on, all soldiers of this ship should be cut short to the neck in the same way as the officers and students, so as to conform to the trend of the world. After Commander Cheng finished speaking, he was unanimously supported by the training soldiers. In just an hour, the long braid on the back of the heads of more than 400 sailors was cut off.

Commander Cheng's open-mindedness won the favor of all the officers and men of the ship, and his humility without being known as transgressing the rules made his subordinates even more awe-inspired. During the voyage, the Chinese and British navies hoisted the flag and fired a salute in accordance with international etiquette.

In the port of Aden, the Chinese and British warships first exchanged a 21-gun salute, and then the British ships fired a 15-gun salute to Commander Cheng. According to etiquette, the Haiqi ship should immediately fire the salute in full. But at this time, the commander ordered the gunners: stop firing the cannons. The officers and men of the whole ship broke out in a cold sweat: As the saying goes, diplomacy is no trivial matter, and this is not the time to play tricks!

The British naval officers and men were also stunned by the never-ending sound of artillery: has the Chinese navy not even learned the most basic naval etiquette? After a while, the British naval liaison officer drove the ship to inquire about the reason. Commander Cheng ordered the interpreter to send a message: "Let the British see clearly what rank the general's flag on the mast of our ship is, and then salute, and don't fire cannons indiscriminately!" Only then did the British suddenly realize: the Haiqi ship was flying the flag of the rear admiral, while the British side was a lieutenant general——— and fired two more cannons. The British Navy immediately issued an international light signal, apologized to Commander Cheng Dao, and fired a 13-gun salute again in the Rear Admiral's check. Only then did Cheng Biguang allow the salute to be fired 13 times. Not only did this incident not cause a diplomatic storm, but later British naval officers and men praised the Chinese Navy's Admiral Cheng for his "gentlemanly style."

Once you arrive in Plymouth, you will be overwhelmed with diplomatic ceremonies. Liu Yulin, the Qing government's ambassador to Britain, immediately drove from London to Plymouth to greet the special diplomatic envoys from the motherland. In order to welcome the Haiqi ship's visit to Britain, the mayor of Plymouth City specially held a grand garden party, which was attended by more than 30 officers and trainees under the leadership of Cheng Biguang and Tang Tingguang. At one time, the gentry and celebrities of Plymouth gathered in more than 500 people.

Naturally, there are also not-so-pleasant stories. One day, the Haiqi ship sent personnel ashore to purchase a number of live pigs, placed them in the barge, and hired another tugboat to tow them to the side of the ship, intending to slaughter them for the officers and men to eat. I don't know if these British pigs have never seen the sea, or they don't want to be eaten by the Chinese, so they took advantage of the surging cable to break during transportation, and they all poured out of the barge and floated on the water. Seeing this, the officers and men on the ship were willing to let such a foreign pig fall into the sea and flee, so they quickly unloaded several sampans and went all out to round them up. This situation and this scene have long been captured by British reporters cruising on the sea. Two days later, the local newspaper published a large news photo of the officers and men of the Haiqi ship fishing piglets on a sampan. Its accompanying text explained: "In the past, the British mostly said that the Chinese had pigtails on the back of their heads, and one called braids, but now they see that the pigtails on the heads of the officers and soldiers of Haiqi are gone, but they still like to eat pork, and they seem to have an indissoluble bond with piglets." ”

"What an English devil, Lao Tzu has traveled thousands of miles to celebrate the coronation of your king Lao'er, but you have used the topic to play and insult Lao Tzu's national personality!" After reading this, the officers and men of the Haiqi were extremely indignant at such unfriendly acts, and asked for permission to send personnel ashore to negotiate with the British officials and newspapers, and demanded that the other side publicly publish a newspaper to apologize and make amends, so as to remedy the bad influence. However, an official of the embassy in the UK explained: "The British have freedom of speech and a clear constitution. Although this report is satirical, it is true, and it seems that it cannot be concluded that it is a malicious insult to me. Moreover, when our ship first arrived in Pibang, it did not make a big fuss and incur a foreign-related incident. So, the officers and soldiers had no choice but to swallow this mouthful.

Coronation of the British King: The Great Proofreading of the Sea

The Spithead Waters where the Haiqi ship is anchored, 2.2 nautical miles south of Portsmouth Harbour. Every major celebration in the United Kingdom, it is used as a place for the Royal Navy fleet to assemble and review.

After the death of King Edward VII in 1910 and the succession of his second son, George V, to the throne, a coronation ceremony was scheduled for June 22, 1911, and a solemn review ceremony of the Maritime Multinational Fleet was held on the 24th.

On 21 June, the ship and the warships of various countries that had come to participate in the parade and the fleet of the British Royal Navy were all assembled in the waters of Spithead as planned. On the same day, the captains and captains of ships of various countries received invitations from the British side to attend the coronation ceremony of the British king. Commander Cheng Biguang, Tang Tingguang and his attaché went to London in the same car. Other Chinese dignitaries invited to attend the ceremony included Zai Zhen, a special envoy of the Qing Dynasty government, and Liu Yulin, ambassador to the United Kingdom.

On the 22nd, Cheng Biguang and his entourage were eye-opening! On this day, although the weather was not beautiful, and it was recorded in the diary of the crowned King George V as "showers, overcast, clouds in the sky", and "cool breezes", the whole city of London was still lit up and became a sea of joy. At 10.30am, King George V and Queen Mary left Buckingham Palace for their coronation at Westminster Abbey in the Diocese of Canterbury, aboard a four-wheeled float drawn by eight cheese-coloured horses. The king was dressed in a crimson national dress, and the float was surrounded by 20 guards of honor, and the float was accompanied by 8 young and handsome guards, followed by a motorcade of high-ranking members of the royal family, and 20 majestic palace guards at the back of the chariot. Within half an hour's journey, 50,000 troops were sent to guard the streets along the way, and hundreds of thousands of people poured into the streets, cheering and cheering for the new king and queen.

Two days later, on 24 June, King George V and Queen Georges V reviewed the multinational ship formation in Spithead waters. According to the British side, the number of participating countries, the number of ships, and the military appearance of this review are the largest in British history. At about 11 o'clock in the morning of the same day, King George V and Queen Mary, accompanied by the First Minister of the Navy, accompanied by special envoys from various countries, their own ministers and royal nobles, sailed slowly out of Portsmouth Harbour on three large luxury yachts. Chinese envoys Zai Zhen and Cheng Biguang were invited to watch the parade at sea on the first school parade boat owned by the British king.

When the three reviewing boats sailed out of Portsmouth Harbour, the Royal Navy flagship fired a gun salute first, followed by 21 simultaneous cannon shots from all the participating ships at the prescribed intervals. Suddenly, the rumbling sound of cannons resounded through the blue sea, and the billowing smoke filled the blue sky.

The British king took the school parade boat to review the warships one by one, and each time he arrived at the ship, the ship's band played the British national anthem and the national anthem of his own country, and the officers and men stood in solemn salute. As soon as the music was finished, the officers and men waved their military caps in unison and shouted "Hurrah!" three times. (Hooray!) King George V and Queen Mary looked pleasant, waving and smiling in return.

The grand and spectacular sea parade lasted for 1 hour and 20 minutes. On the way back to Hong Kong, King George V and Queen met with Cheng Biguang, the commander of the Chinese Navy who led his ship to Britain to participate in the fleet review, and presented him with the "Coronation Silver Medal".

In order to enhance the communication between the British Royal Navy and the navies of other countries, the British side has designated corresponding visiting ships for all foreign ships. The escort ship was the large battleship HMS Prince of Wales, the flagship of the British Royal Navy's Atlantic Fleet. Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Jericho stationed at the command of the ship. A few years later, World War I broke out, and Jericho was promoted to commander-in-chief of the fleet, defeating the German fleet and becoming Britain's most decorated admiral. The flagship of the Prince of Wales is anchored next to the Haiqi. On the evening of the same day, Lieutenant General Jericho hosted a banquet on the flagship of the Prince of Wales to entertain Commander Cheng Biguang, Tang Tingguang, and officers and students. On the 25th, Cheng Biguang also held a banquet on the Haiqi ship to thank Vice Admiral Jericho and the captain of the flagship of the Prince of Wales.

On June 22, the day of the coronation of the British King, the British Royal Navy held a multinational naval athletics meet in Portsmouth Harbour to celebrate this important historical moment and deepen the friendship and exchanges between the navies of various countries. Chinese sailors have organized any track and field games in China, but it is a matter of face for the Chinese, so they have to select dozens of able-bodied people to organize a team to participate in the competition, and the supernumerary first mate who supervised the ship's visit to the sea academy was the leader of the team and entered the arena. Although it was an impromptu entertainment, it was also an "international event", so it attracted tens of thousands of people in Portsmouth.

In the 200-meter hurdles race, Meng Guangji, a signal soldier of the Haiqi ship, tripped over the wooden hurdle after stepping over two hurdles in a row. For this reason, at the award ceremony, the Chinese team was praised by the chairman of the conference. Twenty years later, the first mate became the principal of Whampoa Maritime School, and he paid great attention to sports activities to improve the physical fitness of the students.

Across the Atlantic: Condolences to the American Diaspora

On June 26, 1911, the ship Haiqi, which had completed its diplomatic mission to Britain to celebrate the coronation of the British king, set sail from the outer anchorage of Portsmouth Harbour and returned to Plymouth Harbour to replenish coal water and food. Two weeks later, it sailed east again along the English Channel, crossing the Strait of Dover into the North Sea and arriving at the Port of Newcastle. Newcastle is an important coastal industrial town in the north-east of England, where the famous Armstrong shipyard is located. At this point, the Haiqi ship, a cruiser that was far away from "marrying" China, could be regarded as truly returning to its mother's home. Here, the Haiqi ship was moored for nearly a month, and all the wires in the ship were replaced by docking. After the repair works were completed, the ship set sail for the east coast of the United States of America.

This is the first time that a Chinese warship has crossed the Atlantic. Around August 10, after two weeks of continuous sailing, the ship crossed the vast ocean of 4,000 nautical miles and arrived in New York.

In order to welcome the visit of the Chinese warship, the US Navy Department dispatched the 10,000-ton cruiser USS North Dakota as an escort ship to anchor alongside Haiqi and designated a lieutenant colonel officer as the liaison officer to coordinate with the ship. The day after his arrival in the United States, the US Secretary of State and Secretary of the Navy met with Commander Cheng Biguang and Tang Tingguang respectively. On the third day, the two military and political dignitaries jointly held a grand reception to entertain the officers and men of the Haiqi ship. On the fourth day, Cheng Biguang, Tang Tingguang and others were invited to Boston to meet President Taft, who was on vacation at his summer residence.

During their visit to Boston, Cheng Biguang and his entourage were also invited to watch the famous drama "Red Widow," which became a sensation in the United States and has been performed for 300 consecutive performances. Sitting in the VIP box, Cheng Biguang watched it with taste under the explanation of the English translator. The new commander-in-chief adjutant had an idea and tested the US liaison officer: "After the performance, I wonder if I can arrange for the commander-in-chief to visit the backstage?" Commander Cheng didn't say anything, obviously he was thinking. The U.S. liaison officer understood this and immediately whispered to the waiter to handle it. At the end of the play, as soon as Cheng Biguang got up, the theater manager stood at the door of the box with a smile on his face, respectfully asking the commander and his party to come backstage to give advice.

Commander Cheng happily followed the manager to the backstage with the attitude of "respectful rather than obedient". At this time, the entire cast and crew began with the heroine who played the role of the Red Widow, and the men and women applauded to welcome the Chinese admiral. Cheng Biguang was overjoyed when he saw this, and gave an impromptu speech, highly praising the wonderful performances of the cast and crew, saying that "this play is the best and most exquisite performing arts I have seen since my visit abroad", which once again won the applause of the audience. The theater manager excitedly encouraged, "Girls, getacquaintancewiththeAdmiral!" (Ladies, get acquainted with this admiral!) Before Cheng Biguang could understand what it meant, dozens of beautiful women with heavy makeup and crisp breasts swarmed up, aiming at the target and kissing wildly. Suddenly, Commander Cheng, who was the commander of the fleet, had a big face, and his cheeks were densely covered with lipstick marks left by the beauties. Master Cheng, who adheres to the creed of "men and women are not close to each other", this time it can be regarded as a full "foreign meat".

The first visit of a Chinese warship to the US mainland has aroused strong repercussions throughout the United States. General Grant Jr., the son of the late US President Grant and Supreme Commander of the Army in New York, warmly received Commander Cheng Biguang and his entourage, and sent his wife to accompany the officers and men of the Haiqi ship to visit President Grant's tomb and visit the Grant Memorial Hall. General Royze, director of the New York Shipyard of the US Navy, also warmly invited Commander Cheng to visit the plant. In order to invite Commander Cheng to visit, the director general of the American Railroad Company even invited the guests to visit the Bethlehem Steel Mill on the way back.

The one-week visit to New York, USA, was spent in a warm and cheerful and friendly atmosphere. Chinese Ambassador to the United States Zhang Satang has carried out fruitful work at the upper echelons in order to achieve the expected results of the Haiqi warship's visit to the United States. The Overseas Chinese Chamber of Commerce in the United States went all out, and various gatherings and receptions were held one after another, making the officers and men of the Haiqi ship feel at home.

Of course, the itinerary that the Chinese diaspora reacted to the most strongly was the arrival of the Haiqi ship in Cuba. When the Haiqi ship was ordered to go to Britain to celebrate the coronation of the British king, it coincided with the anti-Chinese and anti-Chinese riots in Mexico, and Shen Aisun, the chargé d'affaires of the Qing government embassy in Mexico, urgently sent a telegram to China to escort overseas Chinese. The Qing government then ordered the ships to visit the United States, Cuba, and Mexico after the end of the British diplomatic mission to comfort the overseas Chinese.

In mid-August, the ship set sail from New York, headed south along the east coast of the United States, crossed the Florida Strait, and arrived in Havana, the capital of Cuba. Upon hearing the news, the Cuban Overseas Chinese Chamber of Commerce organized hundreds of people to greet them at the port. Immediately, the overseas Chinese leaders jointly invited the officers and men above the trainee level on the ship to attend a grand welcome banquet at the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce to welcome the relatives of the motherland who came from afar. According to the diary of the witnesses: "For a while, the guests and hosts gathered, such as meeting old friends, such as returning to their hometown, all of them drank heartily, talked and laughed, and enjoyed the joy of life." What touched the officers and men even more was that whenever they left the ship and landed, they met overseas Chinese, men, women, and children, all of them vied with each other to invite them to their homes and give them a warm welcome. Parting, a variety of souvenirs were also presented. If you meet the officers and soldiers of the same township and clan, please invite again and again, which is sincere and unforgettable.

On the third day of the Haiqi warship's arrival in Cuba, the Cuban president met with Commander Cheng Biguang and Tang Tingguang. Speaking of overseas Chinese, the president said: "The Cuban military and civilians will never discriminate against overseas Chinese, because during the Cuban war against Spain, overseas Chinese fought together with the Cuban military and civilians and made major contributions to the independence and liberation of Cuba. This historical fact will never be forgotten by the Cuban people. However, according to the overseas Chinese leaders, when the first batch of overseas Chinese arrived in Cuba in 1847, their situation was very miserable, like pigs and dogs. Although there has been improvement, there are still varying degrees of discrimination. Many overseas Chinese leaders and ordinary overseas Chinese unanimously believe that the visit of the Haiqi ship will have a positive and significant impact on improving the situation of overseas Chinese in Cuba.

After anchoring in Cuba for 10 days, the ship was originally scheduled to continue westward for more than 800 nautical miles to visit Mexico. However, because the Mexican Government had signed an agreement with Zhang Satang, the Qing Government's ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the United States, Cuba, and Spain, on the anti-Chinese incident, formally apologizing to the Chinese Government and compensating the victims for the loss of life and property, and because of the war between Mexico and its neighbors, the visit was suspended after asking for instructions from China.

At this point, after nearly 120 days of sailing, the ship has completed all its diplomatic missions and is about to return home. However, an unprecedented revolution that changed the dynasty broke out in the land of China, which hindered the dream of the officers and men of the Haiqi ship to return to China.

Overseas Yiqi responds to the revolution

When the ship returned home, it should have chosen to cross the Panama Canal from Havana via the Caribbean Sea and directly across the Pacific Ocean along the west coast of the United States to return to Shanghai, completing a far-trooping feat that was unprecedented in the history of the Chinese Navy's long-distance voyage. Not only that, but this route is only 9,510 nautical miles, which is a full third shorter than the original route back to China. But the Haiqi ship still chose the latter. The reason for this is that there is no second supply point on the former's voyage except for the supply in Hawaii; The latter, on the other hand, has nearly 10 ports under the jurisdiction of the British Navy, ready to be replenished. This was crucial for the Haiqi cruiser, which was coal-fired and had no refrigeration facilities. Still, in terms of the distance traveled and the sea area reached, we can call it a circumnavigation of the world.

In early September 1911, the ship left Havana to visit Hamilton, the capital of the British Bermuda Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. Three days later, it was unmoored and returned to the port of Barrow-inverness on the northwest coast of England.

In late September, the old democratic revolution aimed at overthrowing the rule of the Qing Dynasty was surging in China, burning the whole country. When the news came, the crowd was emotional.

Huang Zhongxuan, the third mate of the Haiqi ship, graduated from the second driving class of Yantai Naval Academy in 1908, a native of Min County, Fujian, and the nephew of Huang Zhongying, the first Minister of the Navy and Commander-in-Chief of the Navy of the Republic of China. As early as when he was studying at Yantai Maritime School, he secretly participated in the alliance led by Mr. Sun Yat-sen. At this moment, the alliance will launch the Xinhai Revolution at home, and Huang Zhongxuan immediately launched underground activities on the ship, striving for the Haiqi ship to change its flag overseas and expand its international influence. He first secretly connected more than 20 people, including colleagues from the Third Officials Department, inspectors, chief commanders, chief gunners, and trainees, and then went to the military cabin and the second official hall to carry out the mobilization and organization work, and won a positive response from the vast number of officers and men. At this time, the good news of the victory of the Wuchang Uprising came. Huang Zhongxuan immediately led the backbone elements to openly ask Commander Cheng Biguang and Tang Tingguang to take the ship aboard and lead the officers and men of the ship to participate in the great cause of the revolution.

After some urgent consultations with Liu Yulin, the ambassador to the United Kingdom, Cheng Biguang and Tang Tingguang agreed to lead the officers and men of the ship to join the revolutionary camp. For this purpose, Cheng Biguang specially gathered all the officers and men of the ship to give lectures on deck. He said straight to the point: "I already know what everyone has been talking about recently. If any of you want to return to China to take part in the revolutionary work, please stand on the starboard side, and if you disapprove of it, stand on the port side. When I sing the last word of 'one, two, three,' I ask you to decide what you want to do. After speaking, Cheng Biguang paused slightly, and then sang loudly "Yi...... Two...... Three". Suddenly, he saw that all the officers and men standing on the port side of the deck had moved to the starboard side, while none of the officers and men standing on the starboard side had walked past the port side, even the white Persian cat that General Royze, director of the New York Navy Yard, had given to Commander Cheng during his visit to the United States. For a time, the drums of the whole ship thundered, and the officers and men cheered.

January 1, 1912 is the New Year's Day of the first year of the Republic of China. A grand ceremony was held at Barrow Harbor. The officers and men of the whole ship are neatly groomed, and they are lined up on the rear deck; A guard of honor consisting of 40 sailors stood at the forefront with guns; In the sound of majestic military music, with Cheng Biguang's order to "change the flag", Tang Tingguang, the pipe band, held a newly made red, yellow, blue, white, and black five-color flag to the duty officer in both hands, and the duty watchman drove under the escort of two gun-wielding flag guards, and drove under the tail flag pole of the ship, first lowered the yellow green dragon flag, and then raised the red, yellow, blue, white and black five-color flag.

The ship was stranded in England for half a year, and it was not until the end of March 1912 that it finally embarked on the voyage home. The ship sailed south from Barrow Harbor, passed through the Irish Channel and St. George's Strait, replenished coal water and food at Cardiff Port at the western tip of Wales, and returned along the outbound route Gibraltar-Said-Aden-Colombo-Singapore, and arrived at Yangshupu Terminal in Shanghai at the end of May.

The Haiqi ship returned, to the politically turbulent Republic of China; The officers and men of the Haiqi ship returned, returning to their stormy and impoverished hometown. Of course, there are those who have not returned. They were three sailors who died of illness. According to international naval practice, they have been buried at sea in the blue ocean.