Stand in a hall built for 108 men killed by mistake
The ships were repainted black
Hainan Assembly Hall, Hoi quan Hai Nam, on Tran Phu in the old town. One tab of the old town ticket.
Why it's unique
In 1851 a ship carrying 108 Hainanese merchants was attacked and its passengers killed by Nguyen dynasty forces. The commander responsible then had the vessels repainted black so the killings would read as a pirate raid, and claimed the cargo.
A survivor got word to Emperor Tu Duc. The officers were executed, the goods returned to the families, and the dead were posthumously honoured. The Hainanese community built this hall as their memorial, and the altar carries a tablet to the 108.
Every port has clan halls. This one exists to commemorate a specific miscarriage of justice, which is why it is here and the others are not.
Before you go
Sources disagree on when it was built, giving either 1875 or 1883. The killings in 1851 are the fixed point, and that is what the building is about.
Read the altar tablet before you look at anything else. Without it this is just another hall.
It is far quieter than the Fujian hall two hundred metres away, because it is not on the standard route. That is usually an argument for going.