Taiwan, a place of free trade throughout the 17th century, was in 1684 incorporated into the territory ruled by the Qing dynasty. Large numbers of Han Chinese migrants continued coming to Taiwan and settling down in various regions, including the plains, the foothills, and mountainsides west of the Central Mountain Range. They developed their own villages, industries, and lifestyles, and gradually created traditional local communities constituted mostly of Han migrants and their descendants. At the same time, indigenous societies experienced an unprecedented impact. Amid the mountains and between the oceans, different groups of people coexisted while competing with one another. This was an era of complex, varied, and frequent interactions.