It witnessed the birth of China's first naval and commercial vessel, Wan Nian Qing; China's first battle cruiser, Ping Yuan; and the first plane made in China. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]

This is the birthplace of China's first maritime training school. The first Chinese who studied abroad were cultivated here. It witnessed the birth of China's first naval and commercial vessel, Wan Nian Qing; China's first battle cruiser, Ping Yuan; and the first plane made in China. This is the Foochow Arsenal; its founder is Shen Baozhen, the first minister of shipping affairs of the Qing Dynasty.

The Opium War erupted in the year 1840 and sent China into a semi-feudal and semi-colonial status, and plummeted its people into endless sufferings. However, this crisis also made some Chinese realize that they needed to learn from the west in order to build a prosperous China. In 1866, the then-administrator of Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, Zuo Zongtang, established the Foochow Arsenal in Mawei, Fujian. This marked the beginning of a series of movements aiming at strengthening China and its military forces. Ever since then, ship factories, battle vessels, planes and schools were built, while a more specialized labor pool was widened. Children were sent overseas to learn from the west. Some of the earliest contributors to the development of China's modern industry and technology were trained here. Foochow Arsenal certainly saw a lot of firsts in China.