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Binondo

Binondo
Other transcription(s)
 • Chinese 岷倫洛區
Binondo skyline
Binondo skyline
Nickname(s): Chinatown
Location within Manila
Location within Manila
Country Philippine's
Region National Capital Region
City Manila
Congressional District 3rd District of Manila
Barangays 10
Area
 • Total 0.66 km2 (0.26 sq mi)
Population (2010)
 • Total 12,985
 • Density 20,000/km2 (50,000/sq mi)
Binondo
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese

Binondo is a district in Manila and is referred to as the city's Chinatown and is the world's oldest Chinatown. Its influence extends beyond to the places of Quiapo, Santa Cruz, San Nicolas. It is the oldest Chinatown in the world, established in the 1594 by the Spaniards as a settlement near Intramuros but across the Pasig River for Catholic Chinese, it was positioned so that colonial rulers could keep a close eye on their migrant subjects. It was already a hub of Chinese commerce even before the Spanish colonial period. Binondo is the center of commerce and trade of Manila, where all types of business run by Filipino-Chinese thrive.

Noted residents include St. Lorenzo Ruiz, the Filipino protomartyr, and Venerable Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo, founder of the Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary.

Numerous theories on the origin of the name "Binondo", and that of "Tondo", its neighboring district, have been put forward. Philippine National Artist Nick Joaquin suggested that the names might have been derived from the archaic spelling of the Tagalog term "binondoc" (modern orthography: binundók), or mountainous, referring to Binondo's originally hilly terrain. French linguist Jean-Paul Potet, however, has suggested that the River Mangrove, Aegiceras corniculatum, which at the time was called "tundok" ("tinduk-tindukan" today), is the most likely origin of the term, with the 'Bi-" prefix in "Binondo" indicating Binondo's location relative to tondo.

Founded in 1594, Binondo was created by Spanish Governor Luis Pérez Dasmariñas as a permanent settlement for Chinese immigrants (the Spanish called the Chinese sangleys) who converted to Catholicism. It was across the river from the walled city of Intramuros, where the Spaniards resided. Originally it was intended to replace the Parian near Intramuros, where the Chinese were first confined. The Spanish gave a land grant for Binondo to a group of Chinese merchants and artisans in perpetuity, tax-free and with limited self-governing privileges.


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