At the same time, as the ruling Manchus had become increasingly sinicized and population pressure in China proper emerged, the dynasty began to abandon its earlier attempts to block Han Chinese trade penetration and settlement in the steppe.
In 494, when Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital from Pingcheng (平城, in modern Datong, Shanxi) to Luoyang as a major part of sinicization campaign, Tuoba Xun accompanied his father south.