Old Street Culture of Qilou Old Street in Haikou

Haikou arcade has a long history as a gallery architecture art. The white arcade building in Haikou not only has strong characteristics of China ancient traditional architecture, but also imitates western architecture, as well as the architectural and decorative style of Nanyang culture, which is obviously influenced by Indian and Arabic architectural culture. These unique architectural styles form a landscape painting of arcade.

Due to the unique strong sun and rainy climate in Hainan, as early as 1395 (during the Hongwu period of Ming Dynasty), when the market street was built in Waisha area of Haikou (that is, Boai Road and Deshengsha Road), there was already a long corridor-style "shop row house" that could shelter from rain and sun. After 1930, a wave of rush to South Asia blew away in Hainan. After a long journey in a foreign land, Hainanese who went to South Asia left their leaves behind and returned home to build houses with their hard-earned money. While the ancestors brought back the thought of Nanyang, many European arcade buildings with Nanyang style appeared in Hainan. At that time, several or more uneven arcades were adjacent, and the long corridor in front of the store connected the whole block, which could provide a world for pedestrians to shelter from the hot sun and storm, create a relatively cool environment, and become an open communication place for businesses to apply for jobs and attract customers. Arcade became the regional feature of commercial culture and social culture at that time. In its long historical process, Qilou Old Street has formed and accumulated a large number of historical and cultural relics with rich historical and cultural colors. In history, 13 countries have opened consulates, churches, post offices, banks and chambers of commerce here. China * * * production party Qiongya first meeting site, Zhongshan Memorial Hall; Xitian Temple, Tianhou Temple, Temple, Lady Sendai Temple, and family-style townhouses built by well-dressed overseas Chinese rich at that time for their hometown, such as Qiuzu House and Raoyuan Garden.

The five-storey tallest building in Haikou, which was very famous in those days, can still be seen on Deshengsha Road. It was built in the early 1930s by Wu, a Wenchang native who was then the chairman of Huili Bank in Saigon, Vietnam, with stones and timber shipped back from Nanyang. As the largest and most luxurious hotel in Haikou at that time, it was once a landmark building in Haikou, running a grand theater and showing movies. Running through Bo 'ai Road are the East and West markets. The east gate is the seafood dry goods market, the west gate is an antique street, and there are large and small antique stalls along the street.