The Chen Yuen was an ironclad battleship and the sistership of the flagship of the Chinese Beiyang fleet, the Ting Yien. Chen Yuen was 308 ft by 60ft with 14" armour capable of resisting any naval artillery at the time. She was had a maximum speed of 15.4 knots and a range of 4,500 nautical miles. Chen Yuen was armed with four 12" (305mm) Krupp guns - 2 in two barbettes. The Chen Yuen had a crew of 363.