World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe Jiangnan Arsenal (Postal Map romanization: Kiangnan) was built on the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China in 1865 during the Qing Dynasty for the construction of firearms and naval vessels. At the time of its completion, it was the largest military factory in East Asia. The machineries of the facility were initially leased from the American firm Thomas Hunt and Company that was located in the Shanghai international zone, but due to the sensitive nature of production for the military, all equipment were purchased by Chinese nationals shortly after. In 1868, the shipyard launched its first ship, steam boat Huiji. In 1891, the steelworks produced its first batch of steel, which was also China's first. In 1905, the shipyard began to be operated separately. In the 1920s, the shipyard launched six river gunboats; these were contracted by the US Navy for the patrol of the Yangtze River. In 1935, light cruiser Pinghai was launched at Jiangnan; Pinghai, ironically fitted in Japan, would see action during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Some of the heavy equipment at the Jiangnan Arsenal was disassembled in 1937 at the onset of the war and relocated to Chongqing Shipyard further inland, but the Japanese still captured a significant portion. Jiangnan fell into the hands of the Communists after the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War and was renamed Jiangnan Shipbuilding Factory in 1953. In 1964, the Communists moved the shipyard to Chongqing to prevent US or Soviet bombardment in the case of war; most of the equipment would return to Shanghai in the subsequent years. Its ownership was transferred to the state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corporation in 1996. The shipyard moved from its location in central Shanghai to Changxing Island off the city's eastern sea coast in 2009. Today the Jiangnan shipyard is among those responsible for the building of the Type 052D destroyers for the Communist Chinese Navy, among other military ship types. Future aircraft carriers for the Communists may be built at Jiangnan as well.

Ships Constructed at Jiangnan Arsenal

Jiangnan Arsenal Interactive Map

Photographs

Jiangnan Arsenal Timeline