The ancient Cangjiang flows through the old street. In the past, there were ferries connecting to the sea, thus connecting to the ancient trade route. The ships came in and out with private shops and shops of Portuguese and Spanish. It is one of the most important starting points of the Maritime Silk Road of China in Ming Dynasty. Haicang gains the name due to "Cangjiang flows into the sea, the sea nourishes Cangjiang". Nowadays, the commercial streets establised in Ming Dynasty, Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China with different features are still the same, and there are a lot of red- brick old houses built by local people after they returned from Southeast Asia where they pursued for the fortune.