Hanyang Arsenal

Hanyang Arsenal (simplified Chinese: 汉阳兵工厂; traditional Chinese: 漢陽兵工廠; pinyin: Hànyáng Bīnggōngchǎng) was one of the largest and oldest modern arsenals in Chinese history.

Originally known as the Hubei Arsenal, it was founded in 1891 by Qing official Zhang Zhidong, who diverted funds from the Nanyang Fleet in Guangdong to build the arsenal. It cost about 250,000 pounds sterling and was built in 4 years. On 23 April 1894, construction was completed and the arsenal, occupying some 40 acres (160,000 m²), could start production of small-calibre cannons. It built magazine-fed rifles, Gruson quick fire guns, and cartridges.

On 14 June 1894, an industrial accident started a fire in the arsenal that destroyed all the equipment and most of the structures in the arsenal, $1,000,000 in damages were reported. In July of the same year rebuilding began, and in August 1895, all was back to normal and the arsenal started production of German M1888 Commission rifles, locally called 7.92 cm Type 88 Mauser rifle (even though the Commission rifle was unrelated to the Mauser), today these rifles are known as the Hanyang 88 or Type 88 rifle. At the same time, ammunition for the rifle were being produced at a rate of 13,000 rounds per month.

500,000 taels were spent annually in the arsenal, which constructed Mauser rifles and used steel from the works around Hanyang. Iron and coal mines surrounded the area. 160,000 Mausers were purchased by the Chinese military, along with mountain guns and small caliber versions. Smokeless powders was produced for guns at a factory next to the arsenal. The arsenal itself built 40 Mausers a day, 6 field guns a month. Every day the following was manufactured: 300 shells, 35,000 rifle cartridges, 1,000 pounds smokeless powder. They were moved via Yangzi river until reaching Wuchang. Fortifications across China in the interior and on the coast received these weapons.

During the Boxer Uprising of 1900, the arsenal supplied the Boxers with more than 3,000 rifles and 1 million rounds of ammunition.

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