BINONDO

Binondo is an enclave in Manila primarily populated by ethnic Chinese living in the Philippines. It is the oldest Chinatown in the world, established in 1594.^[2] Historically, this was where the Spanish permitted converted sangleys, their indigenous Filipino wives, and their mixed-racedescendants, the mestizos de sangley or Chinese mestizos, to reside. Similarly, Parían, an area near Intramuros, was where the Spanish first restricted unconverted Chinese immigrants. They allowed sangley settlement at Parían because it was within the range of Intramuros' cannons, and they felt they could control any uprising from the labourers.

Located across the Pasig River from Intramuros, Binondo has typified a small Chinese town, and is referred to as the local "China Town". The district is the centre of commerce and trade for all types of businesses run by Filipino-Chinese merchants. Given the historic reach of Chinese trading in the Pacific, Binondo was already a hub of Chinese commerce before the first Spanish colonisers arrived in 1521.

Binondo is also considered a historic centre of the mestizo de sangley community; famous residents include St. Lorenzo Ruiz, the Filipinoprotomartyr, and Venerable Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo, founder of the Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary.