Can somebody tell me the history of the Chinese in the Philippines?

Chinese in the Philippines

There are close to 1 million ethnic Chinese in the Philippines or approximately 1.5% of the population. Most of the Chinese are concentrated in the urban cities such as Manila and Cebu. The majority (85-90%) of the Chinese population are Hokkiens, hailing from Quanzhou, Nan’an county, the Tongan-Xiamen area and the Zhangzhou region.

The Chinese relationship with the Philippine society has alternated between alienation and acceptance since pre-Spanish times. Today, with intermarriages and the learning of Tagalog as the national language, many Philippine-born Chinese (or Tsinoys as they are known) are actively involved not only in the economic but also the civic and political life of the country



Binondo - History and Development

Binondo was established in 1594 when the Spaniards gave the land to the Catholic Chinese tax-free with limited self-governing privileges. This was to encourage them to be loyal to the colonial powers while keeping them culturally at a distance.

Within Binondo, the Chinese operated their stores and other commercial establishments. The Spaniards thus encouraged the coming of Chinese artisans and practitioners of various occupations. Goldsmith works, cabinet-making, masonry, foundry and shoe-making were among the jobs started by Chinese artisans who in turn passed the skills to Filipinos.



Trading and Financial Centre

Since pre-Spanish times, Chinatown was the center of business for Chinese-Filipino businessmen. It is estimated that more than 70% of the goods sold in the provinces are directly sourced from wholesalers along a dozen narrow streets in Chinatown. Each street has its specialization.

Ongpin is better known for its jewelry stores. Evangelista Street carries extensive industrial equipment supplies while Nueva Street services the shoe industry, supplying materials like leather uppers, rubber soles. Evolving from its image as a wet and dry goods bargain haven, Binondo is now also a one-stop-shop for bargain computers and printers.

Many of the successful Chinese businesses had their origins here. For example, mall magnate Henry Sy opened his first shoe store in Escolta. However, like other Chinese-Filipino businesses, his SM Megamalls are now located all over Metro Manila and Luzon.

Chinatown probably has the largest concentration of bank branches - more than 150 in all -- including foreign banks like Citibank, Chinatrust, Hongkong Shanghai Bank, Dao Heng Bank, and Lippo Bank among others. The country's largest bank Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. has close to 30 branches in the area.

As a financial center, Chinatown saw the peak of its influence in the 1980s when the grey market dubbed the "Binondo central bank" dictated the exchange rates in the country. Until today, money changers work out of their 30 square meter-rooms, equipped with the latest telecommunication equipment. Servicing these money changers is one of the reasons for the presence of multiple branches in the area.

While many of the younger generation have moved out of Binondo to areas like Greenhills and the San Juan vicinity, Binondo continues to be the pulse of Filipino.

http://www.huayinet.org/chinatown/chinatown_philippines.htm

Thanks a bunch for info!

I'll give you 5 stars

1 million is a conservative estimate!

But then who knows when so many Chinese-Filipinos also took Filipino names, the numbes could be higher than 1 million, including those who are "mestizos."

There are about 3 million Chinese in the Philippines which excludes Chinese meztizos

According to Otley Bayer 3 out of 10 Filipinos have Chinese blood !

So there are approximate more than 15 million Filipinos with Chinese blood.

Can you just imagine if all 15 million of those Pinoys with Chinese blood were accepted and recognized as Chinese by the more affluent Chinoys? We would have alot more Chinoys marrying outside their race and the economy would go up.

I think it'd be better if Tsinoys started marrying anyone, no reason to stop at just mestizos... In my entire extended family, I only have 1 Tagalog-Filipino aunt.

With the younger generation of Tsinoys more open, certainly they would end up marrying non-Chinese Filipinos. My own cousin married into a more liberal Tsinoy family and all I can say is they are quite cool.

I think they should just mary each other to keep the bloodline pure just like the spanish

i bet you want a pinay for a wife...

Spaniards have anak sa labas! especially the monks and priests!

Well according to history , Chinese and Filipinos are already trading centuries before the Spaniards came

once upon a time....

pare, better go to www.tsinoy.com for more information