Battle of Yamen The naval Battle of Yamen ( ) ( also known as the Naval Battle of Mount Ya ; ) took place on 19 March 1279 and is considered to be the last stand of the Song Dynasty against the invading Mongol - controlled Yuan Dynasty . Although outnumbered 10 : 1 , the Yuan navy delivered a crushing tactical and strategic victory , destroying the Song . Today , the battle site is located at Yamen , in Xinhui County , Jiangmen City , Guangdong Province , China . Background . In 1276 the Southern Song court , in their rush to flee the capital city of Lin ' an to avoid Mongol invaders approaching Fuzhou , left Emperor Gong behind to be captured . Hopes of resistance centered on two young princes , Emperor Gong ' s brothers . The older boy , Zhao Shi , who was nine years old , was declared emperor . In 1277 , when Fuzhou fell to the Mongols , the exiled dynasty fled to Quanzhou , where Zhang Shijie , the Grand General of Song , hoped to borrow boats to continue their flight . However , the Muslim merchant Fu Shougeng refused their request , prompting Zhang to confiscate Fu ' s properties and flee on stolen boats with the Song court . In fury , Fu slaughtered the imperial clan and many officials in Quanzhou and surrendered to the Yuan , strengthening the Mongols ' naval power . At this point of the war it was obvious the Song did not stand a chance when fighting the Yuan head - on . Zhang Shijie decided to build a vast fleet with what remained , to allow the Song court and soldiers to move from place to place until the situation improved . The Song court sailed to Guangdong from Quanzhou . However , Zhao Shi ' s boat capsized in a storm on the way to Leizhou . Although he survived , he fell ill because of this ordeal . The imperial court later sought refuge in Lantau Island ' s Mui Wo , where Emperor Zhao Shi eventually died ; he was succeeded by his younger sibling , Zhao Bing , who was seven . Zhang Shijie brought the new emperor to Yamen and prepared the defense against Yuan there . In 1278 Wen Tianxiang , who had fought against the Yuan in Guangdong and Jiangxi , was captured by Wang Weiyi in Haifeng County , eliminating all the Song land forces nearby . The battle . In 1279 Zhang Hongfan of the Yuan attacked the Song navy in Yamen . Li Heng , who previously had captured Guangzhou , reinforced Zhang Hongfan . Some within the Song forces suggested that the navy should first claim the mouth of the bay , to secure their line of retreat to the west . Zhang Shijie turned down this suggestion in order to prevent his soldiers from fleeing the battle . He then ordered the burning of all palaces , houses and forts on land for the same reason . Zhang Shijie ordered about 1000 warships to be chained together , forming a long string within the bay , and placed Emperor Huaizong ' s boat in the center of his fleet . This was done to prevent individual Song ships from fleeing the battle . The Yuan forces steered fire ships into the Song formation , but the Song ships were prepared for such an attack : all Song ships had been painted with fire - resistant mud . The Yuan navy then blockaded the bay , while the Yuan army cut off Song ' s fresh water and wood sources on land . The Song side , with many non - combatants , soon ran out of supplies . The Song soldiers were forced to eat dry foods and drink sea water , causing nausea and vomiting . Zhang Hongfan even kidnapped Zhang Shijie ' s nephew , asking Zhang Shijie to surrender on three occasions , to no avail . In the afternoon of 18 March Zhang Hongfan prepared for a massive assault . The employment of cannon s was turned down because Hongfan felt that cannons could break the chains of the formation too effectively , making it easy for the Song ships to retreat . The next day Zhang Hongfan split his naval forces into four parts : one each of the Song ' s east , north , and south sides , while Hongfan led the remaining faction to about a li away from the Song forces . First , the north flank engaged the Song forces but were repulsed . The Yuan then began playing festive music , leading the Song to think that the Yuan forces were having a banquet and lowering their guard . At noon Zhang Hongfan attacked from the front , hiding additional soldiers under large pieces of cloth . Once Zhang Hongfan ' s boats neared the Song fleet , the Yuan sounded the horn of battle , revealing the soldiers under the fabric . The Song troops were prepared for a small skirmish , not a large assault . Waves of arrows hit the Song ships . Caught off guard , the Song fleet immediately lost seven ships , along with a great number of troops in the process . The ill and weakened Song soldiers were no match for the Yuan troops in close combat , and the chaotic environment made battle command impossible . The chained Song ships could neither support the middle or retreat . After the Song troops were killed , the bloody slaughter of the Song court began . Seeing that the battle was lost , Zhang Shijie picked out his finest soldiers and cut about a dozen ships from the formation in an attempted breakout to save the emperor . The Yuan forces quickly advanced to the center and to Emperor Huaizong , killing everyone in their way . There , Left Prime Minister Lu Xiufu saw no hope of breaking free and , taking the boy emperor with him , jumped into the sea , where both drowned . Many officials and concubines followed suit . Aftermath . The " History of Song " records that , seven days after the battle , hundreds of thousands of corpses floated to the surface of the sea . Reportedly , the body of the boy emperor was found near today ' s Shekou in Shenzhen , though his actual grave has yet to be found . Zhang Shijie , having escaped the battle , hoped to have Dowager Yang appoint the next Song emperor , and from there continue to resist the Yuan Dynasty . However , after hearing of Emperor Huaizong ' s death , Dowager Yang also committed suicide at sea . Zhang Shijie buried her at the shore . He and his remaining soldiers were assumed to have drowned at sea , as a tropical storm whipped up soon afterwards . However , there have been suggestions that his death was simply Mongolian propaganda , since no remains or trace of his fleet were ever found . As Emperor Huaizong of Song was the last Song emperor , his death effectively ended the Song Dynasty thus leading the House of Zhao , for the first time , to lose control over China after 319 years and prevent it to recover . The Yuan Dynasty , under Kublai Khan , had all of China under its control . A rock was carved in memory of Zhang Hongfan ended the Song Dynasty there . Many temples were built in the surrounding area in memory of those who lost their lives in the dying years of the Song Dynasty , including Wen Tianxiang , Lu Xiufu and Zhang Shijie . In the 1980s another memorial was built near Shekou to commemorate the boy emperor . Kublai Khan and his descendants and followers would rule China for 97 years until the rise of the Ming Dynasty under the Hongwu Emperor of the House of Zhu , effectively leading the Chinese regain control of their lost territory from the Mongols .