[4] After James Brooke took Sarawak (present day Kuching) from the Bruneian Empire, security in the area improved.

The earliest settlers in the area were the Hokkien businessmen who stayed near the Tua Pek Kong temple (古晉大伯公廟).

Near the present day Chinese History Museum was the first market in Kuching selling fish, meat, and vegetables.

In 1863, Frederick Bayle described the Hai Chun Street as follows:[1] To the right of the Court House is Chinese merchant area, while road on the front is muddy.

[1]By 1872, when the name "Sarawak" was changed to "Kuching", Hai Chun Street shophouses were rebuilt by using red bricks and clay tiles.

After the fire, Rajah Charles Brooke announced that all the new shophouses should be rebuilt with non-flammable brick walls and grey tiles.

Nowadays, grocery stores, large trading companies, banks, and coffee shops has become a rare sight on the street.

Since businesses were already dominated by other ethnic groups, the Hainanese people left with little choices but to become helpers of colonial officers and doing household work.

The theatre is still used to stage Chinese opera to this day especially on the birthday of the deity "Hiang Thian Siang Ti" (玄天上帝).

Back alleys of Carpenter Street was once a warm bed for brothels, opium dens, and gambling houses.

The Chinese History Museum is located near the waterfront, opposite the Tua Pek Kong temple.