On Yixing Street in Haikou’s Qilou Historic Quarter stands the He family compound, an opulent residence that was once the talk of the town and a monument of Hainan’s past glories. It was built by a prominent figure in Haikou’s overseas Chinese and business circles, a man who achieved many firsts for Hainan, the ‘Nanyang Shipping Magnate’, He Daqi.

In the second installment of “Hainan Histories: Qilou”, oral history researcher and Hainan local author Cai Pa revisits past interviews with He Daqi’s descendants and pores over precious historical records to bring viewers an account of He Daqi’s legendary life.

​Though He Daqi and the times he lived in have long since passed, the achievements, dreams, failures, and difficulties he encountered as a representative of the Southeast Asian Chinese community, as well as the sharp business acumen and tenacity he extolled, remain stories waiting for us to uncover, understand, and tell; the adventures on the southern seas, the rise and fall of business dynasties, the interweaving of cultures and the synthesis of completely distinct new ones, scholars’ quests for new frontiers of understanding, the struggles of war…the spirit of these stories are timeless and will always remain relevant.