Westernization movement, also known as self-improvement movement and tongzhi reform, was an industrial movement developed by officials of Westernization School from the end of Qing Dynasty to the end of Qing Dynasty on the basis of "learning from foreigners to control foreigners". "Self-improvement by learning from foreigners' skills" and "Seeking wealth by learning from foreigners' skills" are the campaign slogans and goals in the early and late stages respectively. From 186 1 to 1895, this movement lasted for about 35 years. Westernization Movement was the first large-scale national industrial movement in the west of China in modern times, which took place under the background of feudal imperial power. The Westernization Movement introduced a large number of western science and technology and various western books and documents, trained a group of children studying abroad, and opened the door to western learning. Learning the modern enterprise system will bring a large number of industrial and chemical enterprises to China and help China to embark on the road of industrial development and modernization.

Westernization sent a large number of bureaucrats to Britain, France, Germany, the United States and other countries to purchase military equipment, and established four modern navies-Beiyang Navy, Nanyang Navy, Guangdong Navy and Fujian Navy. Among them, the armored ships Dingyuan and Zhenyuan purchased by Beiyang Navy were called "Far East Giant Ships", which were the ships with the largest tonnage and the strongest firepower in the Far East at that time, and a new military base was built in Lushun.

However, China at that time could not escape the failure of the Westernization Movement. Because the Qing navy was wiped out in the Sino-Japanese War, it dealt a heavy blow to the confidence of the upper class of the Qing court and brought the Westernization Movement to an abrupt end.