Who founded Hubei Gun Factory in Qing Dynasty?

Hubei Gun Factory was founded by Zhang Zhidong, a rising star of Westernization Bureaucrats. The site is located at the foot of Beigui Mountain in Hanyang. Construction began in the 16th year of Guangxu (1890), and it was not until the 21st year of Guangxu (1885) that reconstruction, improvement and continuous expansion began. In the 15th year of Guangxu (1889), when Zhang Zhidong was the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, he planned to donate money to build Guangdong Gun Factory. This summer, half of the payment was just made, and before the machine arrived, it was ordered to be transferred to Governor Huguang. Li, the new governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, was unable to raise the remaining half price and asked to move the gun factory to Tianjin. Zhang Zhidong took the opportunity to transport the machines ordered by the general to Hubei and set up a gun factory in Hubei. Initially, Zhang Zhidong ordered machines for manufacturing muskets and old-fashioned small guns in Germany. In the sixteenth year of Guangxu (1890), the ambassador to Germany was called to replace the new fast gun and the new fast gun machine. In the 20th year of Guangxu (1894), we ordered new machines and added three factories for bullets, shells and gun racks. Due to the different arrival time of the machine, a fire broke out in the construction process of the gun factory, the factory building was burned down and the machine was seriously damaged. Therefore, it was not until the twenty-first year of Guangxu (1895) that factories were installed and production began.