History of the world's oldest Chinatown, Binondo in Manila, now a foodie paradise
Advertisement
In
a series of articles , the Post explores the historical and social significance of major Chinatowns around the world and the communities that shape them.
The world's oldest Chinatown and a rich mix of Chinese and Filipino culture, Binondo is found in the heart of the Philippine capital Manila.
Named after the Filipino word binundok, meaning 'like a mountain', Binondo – home to about 20,000 people – boasts
Taoist temples , Christian churches, Chinese restaurants and eclectic street art.
It was established in 1594 by Spanish colonisers as a permanent settlement for Chinese traders who had converted to Christianity, many of whom married Filipino locals.
The Minor Basilica and National Shrine of San Lorenzo Ruiz, popularly known as the Binondo Church, is an architectural highlight of Binondo. Photo: Instagram/lanie.puno28
While Binondo today is known as a foodie's paradise, it was once better known as a financial hub. Before World War II, banking institutions dominated Binondo's Escolta Street, an area once known as the 'Wall Street of the Philippines'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
HKFP
8 hours ago
- HKFP
Tropical Storm Podul makes landfall in China after raking Taiwan as typhoon
Typhoon Podul weakened to a severe tropical storm when it roared ashore in southeastern China early Thursday, state media said, after carving a path across Taiwan, shutting down businesses, grounding flights and knocking out power to thousands of homes. Podul made its second landfall in Fujian province's Zhangpu County, Chinese state news agency Xinhua said, citing the provincial meteorological observatory, reporting maximum sustained winds of 108 kilometres (67 miles) per hour. On Wednesday, wind gusts of up to 178 kilometres per hour were recorded shortly before the typhoon slammed into Taiwan's Taitung County, the country's Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. One person is missing after he went fishing and was swept away, and 112 have been injured, disaster officials said. More than 8,000 people were evacuated from their homes. As Podul swept across storm-battered central and southern areas of Taiwan, it toppled dozens of trees and triggered flooding. Streets in the port city of Kaohsiung were littered with fallen branches. Embed from Getty Images 'Kaohsiung, Tainan and Chiayi will become major rainfall hotspots tonight, with increasing rain also expected in Penghu and Kinmen,' CWA Administrator Lu Kuo-chen told a briefing attended by President Lai Ching-te. Flights scrapped, schools shut All domestic flights across the island of 23 million people were cancelled on Wednesday, along with dozens of international journeys. More than 63,000 households were still without power. High-speed rail services on the west coast were reduced, while train services in the southeast were cancelled. Many ferry services were also suspended, and businesses and schools across the south closed. More than 31,500 soldiers were ready to assist in rescue and relief efforts, disaster officials said. The CWA said mountain areas in Kaohsiung and Tainan could be hit with a cumulative 400-600 millimetres (16-24 inches) of rain from Tuesday to Thursday. In mainland China, some schools in Guangdong paused classes while train and ferry services have been temporarily halted, China state broadcaster CCTV said. Embed from Getty Images Parts of other provinces such as Hunan and Jiangxi in central China will also see heavy to torrential rain, CCTV added. Intense weather Podul comes after weeks of intense weather in central and southern Taiwan, which is accustomed to frequent tropical storms from July to October. Typhoon Danas, which hit Taiwan in early July, killed two people and injured hundreds as the storm dumped more than 500 mm of rain across the south over a weekend. That was followed by torrential rain from July 28 to August 4 that left at least five people dead, with some areas recording more than Taiwan's total rainfall of 2.1 metres in all of 2024. Natural disasters are common across China, particularly in the summer, when some regions experience heavy rain while others bake in searing heat. The death toll from flash floods and mudslides in northwest China last week has risen to 13, state media said on Saturday. Heavy rain in Beijing in the north also killed 44 people last month, with the capital's rural suburbs hardest hit and another eight people killed in a landslide in nearby Hebei province. Scientists have shown that human-driven climate change is causing more intense weather patterns that can make destructive floods more likely. Global warming, driven largely by the burning of fossil fuels, is not just about rising temperatures, but the knock-on effect of all the extra heat in the atmosphere and seas. Warmer air can hold more water vapour, and warmer oceans mean greater evaporation, resulting in more intense downpours and storms.
South China Morning Post
06-08-2025
- South China Morning Post
Chinese tourists offered visa-free entry to South Korea from September
South Korea has rolled out a temporary visa waiver programme for Chinese tour groups in the latest effort to help strengthen fragile ties. Advertisement From September 29, members of Chinese tour groups will be allowed to enter South Korea without a visa until June 30 next year, the office of Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said on Wednesday. It is the first time that South Korea has allowed travel visa exemptions for Chinese tour groups, regardless of point of entry. Previously, only Jeju Island offered such access, allowing group visitors visa-free stays of up to 30 days. South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok announced the visa-free programme on Wednesday. Photo: EPA/Yonhap 'With South Korea's inbound tourism market recovering rapidly, the implementation of this visa waiver programme is expected to help boost demand for travel to Korea, revitalise regional economies and fuel domestic consumption,' a government official said, according to the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency. Chinese nationals made up the largest group of overseas tourists travelling to South Korea, with about 2.5 million arrivals in the first half of this year, The Korea Herald reported, citing the Korea Tourism Organisation. In November, Beijing announced a unilateral visa-free policy for South Koreans, allowing them to stay in China for up to 15 days until the end of this year. Advertisement The measure drove strong growth in South Korean travel to China, with passenger traffic from November to March up 20.4 per cent to 5.7 million visits, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in Seoul.
RTHK
06-08-2025
- RTHK
Cathay Pacific expects strong travel demand ahead
Cathay Pacific expects strong travel demand ahead Cathay Pacific says interim profit edges up thanks to higher passenger volumes, lower fuel prices and steady cargo performance. File photo: RTHK Cathay Pacific said on Wednesday it anticipated robust overall travel demand for the rest of the year, while acknowledging potential fluctuations on specific routes. Delivering its interim report card, Cathay said net profit rose 1 percent to HK$3.65 billion. Hong Kong's flagship carrier attributed the higher earnings to increased passenger numbers, lower fuel costs and steady cargo operations. Its chief customer and commercial officer, Lavinia Lau, noted a significant 50 percent increase in summer flights to North America. She added that the airline will explore other potential markets. "Now we are turning a lot more, apart from Chinese mainland, we're also turning to Southeast Asia and for example India to get traffic, so as to keep filling up our flights," Lau said. "Obviously, as we continue to add supply, supply-demand balance got a bit better, fares might go down. I think that is totally expected, but that won't deter us from adding more supply and more choice for our customers." Meanwhile, Cathay announced plans to acquire 14 Boeing 777-9 aircraft, securing options for seven more. The deal brought the order book of the twin-engine aircraft to 35. "Boeing has certainly had a troubled period in the recent past, but we are very encouraged by the renewed focus that Boeing leadership has on engineering and production quality," chief operations and service delivery officer Alex McGowan said. "We've seen that their test-flying programme has recommenced. They've got four test planes in operation now that have collectively flown 1,400 flights in over 4,000 hours. "The fifth aircraft commenced its testing cycle, so they're really making great progress with the testing of that aircraft, and we've got confidence that we will have our first Boeing 777-9 in 2027." Cathay's low-cost carrier, HK Express, posted a half-year loss of HK$524 million. Cathay's chief executive officer Ronald Lam said the loss was attributed to temporary shifts in customer preferences away from key destinations like Japan – impacted by earthquake concerns earlier – and the typical maturation period required for newly launched routes. But he said flights to Japan have been picking up again, and that he believes the new routes will become profitable once demand picks up. "By launching these new routes, we also diversify our network away from just Japan," Lam said. "Japan was like close to 50 percent of HK Express' frequency and network, but now its weighting is reducing as we launch more flights to places like Korea, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and Chinese mainland. "In the long run, we believe we will have a more balanced network that will be able to diversify our risk across different destinations."
