On 26 August 1902, Ahlefeld left the ship and his replacement, "KAdm" Friedrich von Baudissin later arrived on 19 November. That month, "Hansa" entered the Yangtze and steamed as far upriver as Nanking, where she took part in the funeral ceremony for the viceroy of Guangxi Province. "Hansa" made another voyage up the Yangtze to Nanking in March 1903, where Baudissin transferred to the gunboat , which carried him further to Hankou. "Hansa" next visited Japan in April, where Emperor Meiji came aboard the vessel. While there, she represented Germany at a Japanese fleet review held at Kobe. "FK" Johannes Schröder took command of the ship in June. On 11 July, the ship steamed into the British naval base at Weihaiwei, along with the Chinese cruiser . "Hansa" left the port two days later. On 20 October, Baudissin left the ship, and his replacement, "KzS" Henning von Holtzendorff, arrived 22 November. The ship made another voyage through the region before stopping in Uraga, Japan, on 27 December. At that time, "FK" Ernst van Semmern replaced Paschen. She underwent an overhaul there that lasted into early January 1904. On 16 January, "Hansa" visited Mirs Bay outside of Hong Kong and departed after two days in the harbor. After the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War the following month, "Hansa" went to evacuate German nationals from Seoul, Korea, and Port Arthur and Dalian on the Liaodong Peninsula. "FK" Eugen Weber took command of the ship in June.