Even though he was a detective, he was also one of Shanghai's three major gangsters along with Du Yuesheng and Zhang Xiaolin, who worked for the Green Gang.

Due to his father's connections with the constabulary, Huang was easily able to test into the French Concession police at the age of 24 in 1892.

He quickly rose to prominence as one of the leading detectives because he was able to solve many cases with assistance from the contacts he made in his father's teahouse.

Crime in the French Concession increased as Huang had such a prominent position in the police force and organized most of the Green Gang's activity in this zone.

Huang was dismissed from the police force in 1924 after he publicly beat the Shanghai Warlord Lu Yongxiang's son.