Just after creation of the Jiangnan Arsenal in 1865 there were suggestions to move it inland． Many important ministers，such as Yinghan，Yulu，Zeng Guoquan，Ronglu and others put forward ideas to the imperial government to move the arsenal． Zhang Zhidong，Yuan Shikai and Wei Guangtao jointly put forward plans to relocate the arsenal inland in 1903 and 1904，but the Guangxu Emperor responded that“over-all plan”was needed and he sent Tieliang to inspect the situation personally． After receiving Tieliang's report to the imperial government the Guangxu Emperor reiterated that the Administrative Affairs Bureau and the Military Training Bureau should draw up an over-all plan． After forty years，the failure to relocate the Jiangnan Arsenal from 1865 to 1904，clearly reflected the serious problem of China's failure to develop an in-depth strategy for modern industrialization．