A duplicate of "Pingyuan", China's first steel battleship in the late 1880s, is to be built this year in Fuzhou, capital of east China's Fujian Province.

The replicated "Pingyuan" is part of the second stage of construction of the Shipyard Cultural City, which displays modern China's shipbuilding history and culture.

The duplicate of "Pingyuan", on which work begins this year with the aim of completing it by 2007, will be housed in the Shipyard Cultural City and open to visitors after completion, said Lin Chu, deputy director of the Mawei District of Fuzhou

The original battleship was built by graduates of the Mawei Shipyard School in 1889, a cradle of modern Chinese naval officers. The 2,400-horsepower ship was 60 meters long and 12.2 meters wide, with a weight of 2,100 tonnes.

It served in the 1894-1895 Sino-Japanese War and was destroyed in 1904.

(Xinhua News Agency March 7, 2006)