"Little Shanghai" In Hainan

The following is a translation of the article which appears in <About Huiwen> 《会文韵》（page 59 -61)

BAIYAN - “LITTLE SHANGHAI” 　                    　 Author： Lin Fangwei

During the period ruled by the Nationalist, the locals used to say: the people in Baiyan wore leather shoes and not wooden clogs; they used bags made of cloth and not bamboo and they carried umbrella instead of wearing bamboo hats.  Judging from the sayings we can imagine the glory and prosperity during those years.

Three Foreign Banks

Baiyan township was established during the Ming dynasty.  From the 1820s overseas Hainanese started to build shop houses in Baiyan.  The building structure bore similarity to those commonly seen in Southeast Asia.  As days went on this little town became a centre for business activities.

During the period ruled by the Nationalist government, there were three foreign banks, namely Citibank, Chartered Bank and Hongkong & Shanghai Bank, which set up their operation offices here.  That was quite exceptional in China.  Two or three storeys shop houses lined up along both side of the main road.  Due to its booming business activities Baiyan was nicknamed “Little Shanghai”.

Some of the buildings were damaged and others were destroyed or burnt down during the Japanese occupation of Hainan.  The burnt remnants of a number of two / three storey shop houses at the middle portion along the main road can still be visible today.  Inside the houses there are wild grasses and undergrowth.  The size of the wild vine is as large as a man’s arm.   Part of the two popular teahouse building had collapsed.   A few houses are being used as a timber processing factory. 

The site where Citibank once occupied can be identified with a concrete pillar and its foundation.  There is a slate road on its right.  The use of granite as building materials let one to imagine the luxurious past.  Walking along the slate road, one can see three units two storeys linked shop houses.  The unit in the centre belonged to Hongkong & Shanghai Bank.  Chartered Bank occupied the unit on the right.  All these buildings are now used as residence.  The name of Chartered Bank was still visible on the building few years ago. 

Foreign currencies such as Hong Kong dollars, Malayan dollars and US dollars were used in the local market. 

There was also an office, which attended to remittance and letters sent by the overseas Hainanese.   With the establishment of the People’s Republic of China the office became a branch of the Bank of China.   Today the bank’s name can still be visible on the building.  The office received many remittances and letters from overseas Hainanese.  The office on receipt of the money would then delivered it to the respective recipients.

A Bustling Town

Of the many Hainanese who left Hainan for Southeast Asia, most of them hailed from Wenchang and to be precise many of them were from Baiyan, a little town in Wenchang.  Nearly 80% of the family in Baiyan had direct connection with the overseas Hainanese.  They were involved in many type of businesses.  Besides trading in the local products they also offered imported cigarettes, watches, bicycles, kerosene, biscuits and textiles.  The “Raleigh” bicycles, made in England, were once a hit of the town.  Every day there were lorries and motorcars leaving Baiyan for Wenchang city and Haikou.  

The elderly folks did not identify the imported items according to the brands.  Rather they would identify such items based on the picture or design on the packing and gave it a name. For example, a package of oat printed with an old man wearing a tall hat - they would identify that package as “man wearing hat” oat.  In the same manner imported cigarettes were identified according to the pictures on the packages: “Navy”, “Black Cat”, “Three 5” and the like. 

People from the surrounding towns such as Fenglai, Maihou, Chongxing, Zhangpo etc also came to trade in Baiyan.  The father of Lin Rinong had a eating stall here.  There was a unique way to attract customers: the shop owner would tie some notes or a few packs of cigarettes on the first floor as a prize; the person who could reach for the prize would take it away with him. 

Two Hainanese opera used to entertain the locals.  One would station at the Zhongshan Park and the other would perform under the big banyan tree.  A few of the actors / actresses were favorite of the locals.  The  banyan tree was said to be the tallest among all in this area.  

There was a power station in Baiyan.  Some business premises also had telephone lines.  There was also a clinic set up by Lin Xixiao who graduated from Japan.

English Terms Used By Locals

The glory and prosperity of Baiyan had an impact on the living style and the preference of English words in the daily affairs.  It was a common sight here to see the men wearing suits and the ladies putting up “qi pao” (cheongsam).  There were a few shops selling leather shoes.  The trend for the men was: their clothes and trousers were perfectly ironed and their hairs well oiled with hair cream.  Above all they had the habit of drinking coffee.

The Hainanese who returned from overseas influenced the locals in many ways.  Words and terms from overseas were widely used by the locals, such as “soap”, “film”, “pasar” (Malay word for market), “necktie”, “ball”, “outside” (off court).

Until the 1950s, Baiyan was a centre for political, economic and cultural activities.  From the 1960s the locals moved away from Baiyan and conducted their business activities in Huiwen (a few km away).   Baiyan only returned to its glory, for a short while, during the February festival.  It then faded away.  

The villages around Baiyan are quite concentrated.  The surrounding land is very fertile with a net work of natural streams.  It is hope that Baiyan will one day return to its former glory with modern development.