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They even succeeded in securing a lease on the running of present-day Macau, although the sovereignty of the region remained in Chinese hands. At the same time, the Portuguese were also launching attacks on these coastal cities. However, Qi Jiguang (1528 - 1588), now regarded as a national hero, did eventually manage to rally a successful fight back against the intruders. South-east China's coastal cities suffered a number of attacks at the hands of the Japanese during the Ming, which greatly affected the national economy.
![ming dynasty ming dynasty](https://i1.wp.com/www.historyofroyalwomen.com/wp-content/uploads/sun.png)
China also found itself being left behind by other nations in the world. This greatly hindered the Ming Dynasty's future development, resulting in its fall in status from that of a prosperous country to one in decline. The relative social stability enjoyed at the peak of the Ming allowed rulers to indulge in the idea that China now represented the pinnacle of civilized culture doors began to close on efforts to advance technology and learn more about cultures from abroad. In the same year Li Zicheng, an uprising leader, captured the capital in Beijing, bringing about the end of the Ming Dynasty. Many more watchtowers were built along the Great Wall, even stretching along the Silk Road.Īlthough designed with the intention of protecting China from invasion by northern nomads, the building of the Great Wall still could not prevent the Manchus conquering China in 1644, after Wu Sangui successfully breached the gates of the Shanhaiguan Pass. The Ming Dynasty Great Wall extended from the Shanhaiguan Pass, near the Bohai Sea, to the Jiayuguan Pass in Gansu Province. Spanning the nine provinces of Liaoning, Beijing, Tianjin, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia and Gansu, the Great Wall winds like a giant dragon across China's northern plains, mountains and deserts. Although construction had started in earlier dynasties, the present-day structure underwent numerous repair work and further additions in the years of the Ming. The Ming Dynasty also brought with it the completion of the Great Wall.
![ming dynasty ming dynasty](https://www.anythinganywhere.com/commerce/coins/coinpics/chin-h20255-1.jpg)
Evidence even shows that towards the end of the Ming a capitalist system of production had gradually begun to develop in the region. Mining and textiles industries also flourished. Maize and sweet potato only recently introduced into China were widely grown on local farms, which led to increased crop yields. Opportunities for economic development were readily seized upon by entrepreneurs during the Ming, especially in China's southern regions. The capital was founded in Yingtian (present day Nanjing), although was later relocated further north, in Beijing. In 1368, an eminent peasant leader named Zhu Yuanzhang (Emperor Taizu) - responsible for securing a number of important victories in battles during the rebellions - was crowned emperor and went on to establish the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644).