Edited sentence: Especially after the collapse of the Ming dynasty.Had Beijing not been the capital near the north, the Manchu would not have attacked the capital so easily, taking over in the Qing dynasty, which coincidentally is also the last.Historians have questioned why Beijing should have ever been chosen as a capital at all, even to the present day.In addition to long, harsh winters with limited agricultural possibilities, the main food source has always been southern China.It continues to be a problem even with water supply coming from the Yangtze River far away requiring major constructions.The choosing of the capital of China has always been a matter of politics over logistics.The preferred capital was always Nanjing, due to closer distance to the main food source.Throughout most of China's history, the far northeastern corner geography has posed serious water and food supplies problem