In every brick and tile of Haikou’s Qilou buildings is etched the story of Hainanese entrepreneurs’ business successes forged over a century ago in foreign lands across the South China Sea.

In the mid-to-late 19th century, vast numbers of Hainan’s entrepreneurial pioneers embarked on voyages to Southeast Asia in search of fortune. In addition to bringing prosperity back to Hainan, they also brought Nanyang (Southeast Asian)-style architecture, a unique hybrid of eastern and western elements. One of the best extant examples of this architecture can be found in Haikou. These charming Qilou (lit. “riding buildings”), which provide ample protection from Hainan’s tropical sun and rain and extend shop space thanks to corridors formed by upper floors “riding” above the pavement below, are a vibrant footprint of these business pioneers’ Nanyang journey.

By the 1930s, over 572 of these Qilou were built, their ground-floor shops encompassing over 35 trades. Notable among them were Yong Chang Li, Yun Xu Ji, the Far Eastern Company, and Guang De Tang.

No visit to Haikou would be complete without a visit to the Qilou Historical Quarter. The bricks, mortar, and tiles of its century-old buildings serve as a testament to the moving history of Hainanese entrepreneurs who braved the waves and unfamiliar surroundings to seek success and the changes of a city and its fortunes.