Walking Through The World's Oldest China Town

At the height of CNY season Pio Dumayas took a stroll along Binondo, which is often covered by the food vlogger community on social media because of the dozens of restaurants it has to offer. But there's a lot more depth to this place than just food and aesthetic.

Because there was already an established Chinese merchant community residing the Philippines well before the Spanish even arrived, Manila's Chinatown was intentionally built right across the Spanish-controlled walled city of Intramuros for the Chinese immigrants who converted to Christianity, whose descendants are now the Filipino-Chinese families of today. It's history is too rich to be covered in one go but eventually, Binondo grew to become city of Manila's center of trade and commerce where you can treat yourself to some authentic Filipino-Chinese cuisine, source merchandise in wholesale, or just get lost in the vibes honestly (responsibly tho 😅).


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