Together with the museum, the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries launched a project to look for descendants of the foreign officers in December 2014.

Li Jianping, deputy director of the association, said the First Sino-Japanese War was a turning point in China's history and the Chinese people should remember this crucial part of it.

"We will always appreciate the contributions made by the foreign officers," Li said.

"They fought and died for China. They are also an important record of the war."

Without a modern archival system, China had few official records of the war, especially stories of soldiers and details of the battles. After the war, many officers such as Briton William Ferdinand Tyler published memoirs and articles. These have become important historical documents of the conflict.

Another such item is a letter of commendation from the Beiyang fleet to British officer Charles Cheshire displayed in a maritime military museum in London.

"The foreign officers tell stories about China and the war to people across the world. They helped China during and after the battles," Li said.

"By knowing them, we know ourselves."

Contact the writer at pengyining@chinadaily.com.cn