As their contracts ended, many of the Chinese left the plantations, choosing to pursue other means of survival including carpentry, taro farming, rice planting and retailing. As reported in the excellent book, People and Cultures of Hawaii from the University of Hawaii Press - "They formed clan societies, established temples, cemeteries, language schools, and Chinese newspapers to retain their cultural identity."
"For many, Hawaii was no longer a temporary stopping place, but a permanent home. They grew from 71 Chinese among 1962 foreigners and 84,165 native Hawaiians (according to an 1851 census) to 20 percent of the population by 1893. Subsequently, the importation of Chinese was abruptly stopped in 1898 to avoid the establishment of an excessively large Chinese population."
