In 1871, Ryukyuan sailors traveling home from Shuri to Miyako-jima shipwrecked off the southeast coast of Taiwan. They were killed by the local Paiwan people in what is known as the Mudan incident. In retaliation, in 1874, Japan launched an invasion onto Taiwan. The Qing realized how little control they had over remote regions of the island: they sent Shen Baozhen to Taiwan, who proposed building three east-west trails across the Central Mountain Range. Shen hoped that these trails would encourage Han people to live in the mountains to better subjugate the indigenous population as well as strengthen the Qing Dynasty's hold on the island.