The Great Leap Forward took place in China in 1958. It was Mao`s attempt to modernize China. His plan was to make more strong economy. The Great Leap Forward planned to develop agriculture and industry. For that reason, China was reformed into a series of communes. But in 1959, things started to go wrong ( many people died, the poor realization of plans, etc. ) In late 1960, the Great Leap Forward was abandoned.Answer: It failed because Mao tried to C. do too much too quickly.