By the end of the 17th century, a distinct Chinese community, known as the Hoa, formed within Vietnamese society. Ethnic Chinese communities and small Chinatowns were established in many Vietnamese cities and trading centers. Large congregations of Chinese immigrants allowed the establishment of institutions to their regulate business activities and protect their financial interests. Chinese settlement and immigration in Vietnam came about from conducive opportunities for trade and business. Ethnic Chinese businessmen began to visit Hội An from the 16th century onward and initially traded black incense, silk, alum and Chinese medicinal products with the local Vietnamese. Dutch, Portuguese and French merchants who visited Hội An in the 17th century brought European manufactured brass utensils that attracted the attention of the Chinese. In turn, other Hoa businessmen manufactured goods such as porcelain, silver bars and various metals were traded. Around this time, the local Chinese community began to establish their own trading and social associations, the latter of which is referred to as "bang" in Vietnamese to protect their own economic interests. The bang also provided various welfare services for new Chinese immigrants, including financial services such as the collection of taxes. As more immigrants poured in the 19th century, the "bang" served as meeting points for Chinese community leaders to band together to pool seed capital and establish their own businesses. Since 1975, the bangs have received munificent financial contributions from wealthy Hoa businessmen to expand business networks and to serve as a meeting place to sign business contracts and exchange information. For non-business purposes, the bang also serve as assembly halls for the Hoa community where they hold cultural activities acting as tran-social networks that are aimed at strengthening their ethnic identity and help new immigrants integrate into Vietnamese society. Wealthy Hoa families are often philanthropic patrons of these assembly halls who donate charitable financial contributions to the poor, fund scholarships, provide seed and social capital for budding Hoa entrepreneurs to start their own businesses, provide language courses, and the maintenance of cultural and ethnic identity through worship and cultural festivals.