Binondo: the 400-year-old heart of Filipino-Chinese heritage in Manila

It began as a settlement for Chinese converts to Catholicism. Four centuries later, the world’s oldest Chinatown is a living reminder of how migration can shape a nation. At its height, Binondo was the Philippines’ commercial capital. From here, Tsinoy merchants – “Tsinoy” being a blend of the words Tsina (Chinese) and Pinoy (Filipino) – built their fortunes in banking, retail and trade. Some of the country’s richest families can trace their roots to this single square kilometre of Manila: five of the Philippines’ 20 wealthiest people are of Chinese descent, according to Forbes. The Sy siblings, whose empire spans property, retail and banking, top the Philippines’ richest 50 list with an estimated net worth of US$11.8 billion. Metro Manila’s present-day financial heart has since shifted to Makati, but Binondo’s legacy endures as much more than just a cradle of fortune. For many, it represents a shared cultural memory and identity. “Binondo is the heart of my heritage, my culture, my community,” Simone Chua, a 19-year-old communications major at Ateneo de Manila University, told This Week in Asia. “It’s a place where you actually hear Hokkien being spoken around you, where you can get the most delicious Chinese food, where you can randomly encounter your old Chinese teacher or some friend of your parents.” When Manila became the hub of the Spanish galleon trade, Binondo stood at its centre. “Chinese and other oriental products arrived in massive quantities at the port of Manila … and were transported by galleons to Acapulco, Mexico, and finally to Spain and Europe,” said Fernando Zialcita, professor emeritus of sociology and anthropology at Ateneo. Chinese people have been here literally since pre-colonial times Simone Chua, Tsinoy student Yet the Tsinoy story predates Binondo’s founding in 1594 by a Spanish governor-general, stretching back even before Spain’s arrival in the Philippines. “Chinese people have been here literally since pre-colonial times,” Chua said. “People have already gotten used to our presence.” Traders were among the first Chinese to reach the archipelago, according to community leader Teresita Ang-See, carrying with them ceramics like celadons and Ming blue-and-white ware. “They brought in products of their rich culture,” she said. “Many things that made life easier were brought in by the Chinese.” Over the generations, Tsinoys fully integrated into Philippine society, fighting alongside their compatriots in the revolution against Spain at the end of the 19th century – national hero Jose Rizal was himself of Chinese ancestry – and in the resistance to Japanese occupation during World War II. Religion accelerated integration: many Tsinoys embraced Catholicism and the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz – also known as Binondo Church and built by the Dominican Order in 1596 – still anchors the district. Ruiz, a Tsinoy born in Binondo in 1594, was tortured to death while doing missionary work in Japan in 1637. He was canonised in 1987 by Pope John Paul II, making him the first Filipino saint. Another 400 years? Today, Binondo is a neighbourhood of contrasts. Shabby flat blocks stand beside luxury shopping centres. Jeepneys and tricycles jostle for space with tourists. Around the church radiate restaurants serving dumplings, bao buns and hopia – flaky mooncake-like pastries stuffed with mung beans, pineapple, salted egg or purple yam. For those in the younger generations like Chua, the question of preservation is complex. “I have Tsinoy peers who tell me they can barely speak Hokkien,” she said. “When you’re young, cultural preservation isn’t going to be anywhere near your priorities, so if it’s not intentionally taught to you, then you likely wouldn’t work towards it on your own.” Still, institutions like the Chinatown Museum in the upmarket Lucky Chinatown shopping centre try to preserve the story. A welcome video proudly touts Binondo’s “400 years of history condensed into 1 sq km”, while its galleries present a visual story of how socioeconomic and cultural influences shaped the historic district. Bahay Tsinoy (Tsinoy Home) in nearby Intramuros attempts to do the same, featuring life-size dioramas of traders, carpenters and goldsmiths to depict the lives of early Chinese migrants. What of Binondo’s future? Climate change, overdevelopment and cultural drift pose uncertain threats. “It will definitely remain an institution of Chinese culture and community in the Philippines – or, well, we can never know for sure!” Chua said. “Maybe it’ll end up submerged by the ever-increasing floods. Maybe it’ll be overrun by modernisation. I don’t know. But it’s lasted this long already, and I’m hopeful Binondo has at least another 400 years left in it.”

Binondo: the 400-year-old heart of Filipino-Chinese heritage in Manila

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}For centuries, Manila’s Binondo district has been the centre of a Tsinoy culture that helped build the Philippines into what it is today

For centuries, Manila’s Binondo district has been the centre of a Tsinoy culture that helped build the Philippines into what it is today