During the early colonial era, there also used to be low mounds of whitish sand in the area, earning the street the familiar Hokkien (Min Nan) moniker of "Peh Soa Pu" or "Bai Sha Fu" in Mandarin (白沙浮; 'white sand mounds'). The Cantonese, however, referred to the street as "Hak Gaai" or "Hei Jie" in Mandarin (黑街; 'black street') as there were many clubs catering to the Japanese invaders in the 1940s. During the first half of the 20th century, commuters could travel from Bugis Street to anywhere else in "Xiao Po" via a tram service which ran along North Bridge Road, which was referred to by the Chinese-educated as "Xiao Po Da Ma Lu" (小坡大马路; 'little slope main road').