The list of light cruisers of China includes all light cruisers built, modified, and commissioned by the Greater China regime after the Republic of China Navy began imitating light cruisers in the early 20th century. This includes ships from the Republic of China Navy led by the Nationalist government and the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) led by the Chinese Communist Party, totaling six ships belonging to four different classes.

In the early 1930s the Nationalist government converted two torpedo gunboats, Jian'an and Jianwei, inherited from the Qing government. Then these two were reclassified as light cruisers and renamed as Ta Tong and Tze Chiang respectively. Simultaneously, the National Revolutionary Army ordered three cruisers with main guns' caliber of no more than 6 inches from domestic and international shipyards, which were named , , and . These light cruisers served as the mainstay of the Nationalist government's navy, participating in the War of Resistance Against Japan in 1937. But in the early stages of the war, all the light cruisers were either scuttled or sunk in battle for national defense. The three larger light cruisers sunk in battle were later captured and salvaged by the Japanese and reused. Of these three, two were sunk by Allied forces, and the third was recovered by the Nationalist government after the war.

After the end of World War II, , an , was transferred by the United Kingdom to the Nationalist Government of the time. Upon being taken over, this ship was renamed Chong Qing. In 1949, the ship mutinied and joined the People's Liberation Army Navy, becoming the only cruiser in the history of the PLAN. All surviving ships of this class were ultimately scrapped in the 1960s.

+ keyBuilderName of the ship's builderArmamentThe number and type of the primary armamentArmorThe thickness of the belt or deck armorDisplacementShip displacement at full combat loadPropulsionNumber of shafts, type of propulsion system, and top speed generatedCostCost of the ship's constructionServiceThe dates work began and finished on the ship and its ultimate fateThe date the keel began to be assembledLaunchedThe date the ship was launchedCommissionedThe date the ship was commissionedFateThe eventual fate of the ship (e.g., sunk, scrapped)

History As one of the most important warship types in the navies of various nations during the 19th century, cruisers evolved from the single-deck frigates of the Age of Sail. This ship type gradually took its definitive form in the mid-19th century, primarily tasked with fleet screening, reconnaissance, and patrolling the periphery, and occasionally engaging in commerce raiding. As a small, high-speed warship type during the steam-powered era, the , a protected cruiser ordered by Russia in 1898 and built at the German shipyard Schichau-Werke, served as a typical scout vessel. Because her hull was larger than that of a destroyer and her speed exceeded that of small gunboats, the British Royal Navy classified her as a cruiser, specifically designating her as a "scout cruiser" (translated into Japanese as Tsūhōkan or Teisatsukan). Extending into the early 20th century, scout cruisers evolved into new classes of cruisers represented by the , , , , and . These vessels were uniformly classified by the British Royal Navy as "light cruisers".

On April 21, 1930, the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Italy, and the United States signed the first London Naval Treaty, classifying cruisers with main guns of less than 6 inches in caliber as light cruisers. In the early years of the Republic of China, due to budget constraints and other factors, the navy did not build any new cruisers for over a decade. Following the establishment of the Nationalist Government in Nanjing, the newly formed Ministry of the Navy built and refitted a total of five cruisers. Two of these were originally torpedo gunboats launched during the late Qing dynasty; after being taken over by the Republican government, they were used during the Northern Expedition. In the 1930s, these two vessels underwent refits and were subsequently reclassified as light cruisers. During the same period, the Republican government arranged for the Jiangnan Shipyard to construct the cruiser . Later, a light cruiser named was purchased from Japan, and a sister ship named was built as a copy. The Ping Hai was also the largest-tonnage cruiser built by the Jiangnan Shipyard during the Republican era on the Chinese mainland.

These cruisers had a smaller displacement than those of other major maritime powers of the time, with some being comparable in size to large gunboats. Prior to the full-scale outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, these light cruisers were the only capital ships in the fleet of the Republican government's navy. Following the full-scale outbreak of the war, all of these light cruisers were either scuttled or sunk in combat. After the war, the United Kingdom compensated the Nationalist Government of China with a light cruiser due to the sinking of several Republican customs patrol boats that had been requisitioned in Hong Kong during the war. This vessel was the Chong Qing.

Depending on different historical records and literature, the classification of the same vessel may vary; similarly, its designated role can change across different periods. For instance, the Ta tong-class was originally classified as torpedo gunboats when completed in the late Qing dynasty, but after being refitted during the Republican era on the Chinese mainland, they were reclassified as light cruisers. After being captured by the Imperial Japanese Navy, Ning Hai and Ping Hai were renamed as and , respectively. They were initially designated as coastal defense ships (Kaibōkan), and later reclassified as .

Ta Tong class Ta Tong (大同) and Tze Chiang (自強) were originally named as Chien An (建安) and Chien Wei (建威), which were two torpedo gunboats built for the Beiyang Fleet in the late Qing dynasty. These two vessels were designed by Doyere, a Frenchman hired by the Foochow Arsenal, with the hull steel and boilers imported from France. After the raw materials were procured from overseas, the construction was carried out entirely by the Foochow Arsenal's own shipyards. Initially designed and built to the specifications of destroyers, they were equipped with twin torpedo tubes. Upon completion, these two warships were not only China's earliest domestically built destroyers but also the best-performing vessels constructed by the Foochow Arsenal at the time.

Upon completion, the two vessels were assigned to the Yangtze Fleet. Following the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution, they were incorporated into the Second Fleet of the Ministry of the Navy. During the Northern Expedition, these two cruisers responded to the uprising as National Revolutionary Army forces advanced on Shanghai, using their naval guns to bombard the Gaochangmiao Arsenal. By 1928, the two vessels had gradually been decommissioned and laid up.

In January 1930, the Ministry of the Navy of the Nationalist Government in Nanjing initiated a one-year project to convert the decommissioned Chien An and Chien Wei into light cruisers. The refit was carried out by the Jiangnan Shipyard at a cost of 467,200 silver rounds. During the conversion process, major modifications were made to their armament, boilers, hull, and decks. As a result of the refit, the overall displacement of the two vessels increased, while their top speed dropped significantly. They were equipped with larger-caliber guns, and their torpedo tubes were removed. Upon completion, the ships were renamed Ta Tong and Tze Chiang, respectively, and assigned to the First Fleet. In August 1937, the two vessels were scuttled at Jiangyin, along with more than 20 other military and civilian ships, to block the river channel and prevent Japanese forces from advancing upstream. Following the founding of the People's Republic of China, local authorities salvaged and dismantled the wrecks of both ships.

ShipBuilderArmamentArmorDisplacementPropulsionCostServiceLaunchedCommissionedFateTa Tong (大同) Fujian Maritime Administration2 × —2 shafts, 4 coal-fired water-tube boilers quadruple-expansion reciprocating steam engine, , 637,000 taels of silverMarch 3, 1899March 3, 1900December 1902Scuttled near Luojia Bridge in Jingjiang on August 11, 1937Tze Chiang (自強) Fujian Maritime Administration—637,000 taels of silverApril 7, 1898January 29, 1899December 1902Scuttled near the main channel of Jiangyin on August 11, 1937

Yat Sen

Yat Sen (逸仙) was the fourth warship newly constructed by the Jiangnan Shipyard during the Nationalist Government era. The vessel was designed under the supervision of Ye Zaifu. Upon construction, with a displacement of nearly 1,550 tons, it was the largest ship in the Nationalist Navy. To highlight its special status, the navy named it after Sun Yat Sen, the founding father of the Republic of China. Externally, it featured a long forecastle hull form. While similar in appearance to the Hsien Ning (咸寧) and Ming Cheun (民權) previously ordered by the Nationalist Navy, Yat Sen was armed with a heavier weapons configuration. Its main armament consisted of a single 150 mm gun mounted at the bow, complemented by a 140 mm secondary gun at the stern.

This ship was laid down in April 1930. To commemorate the birth of Sun Yat-sen, she was launched in November 1930, under the presiding of Chen Shaokuan, then Acting Minister of the Navy, following six months of intensive construction. She commenced sea trials on May 15 of the following year, and after completing them in June, was commissioned into the First Fleet of the Navy at the end of that year.

Following her commissioning, Yat Sen did not see her first regular military action until late 1933, during the Nineteenth Route Army Uprising. During the Second Sino-Japanese War that broke out in 1937, Yat Sen served as the wartime flagship after the other capital ships in the fleet were severely damaged. On September 25, she was attacked by the Japanese 2nd Combined Air Group. After sustaining a hit to her stern that caused uncontrollable flooding, she was abandoned and subsequently sank in the river.

In 1938, Yat Sen was salvaged by the Japanese and towed to the Japanese mainland for repairs. She was subsequently assigned as a training ship to the Etajima Naval Academy and renamed . It was not until after the end of World War II that the ship was returned to Shanghai in August 1946. After returning to the service of the Republic of China government, she was restored to her original name and joined the newly established First Coastal Defense Fleet, serving as the fleet's flagship. During the Yangtze River Crossing campaign in 1949, Yat Sen broke through the blockade on the Yangtze River and retreated to Taiwan. The ship was officially decommissioned in December 1958 and was sold for scrapping the following year. ShipBuilderArmamentArmorDisplacementPropulsionCostServiceLaunchedCommissionedFateYat Sen (逸仙) Jiangnan Shipyard1 × Unarmored2 shafts, 3 Thornycroft water-tube boilers, 2 vertical triple-expansion three-cylinder engines, , 1.564 million silver roundsApril 10, 1930November 12, 1930May 25, 1931Sunk by Japanese aircraft on September 25, 1937, she was later salvaged, renamed Atada by the Japanese, and commissioned as the flagship of the Republic of China Navy after World War II eventually scrapped on December 31, 1959

Ning Hai class