Chinatown Museum, Manila (part 2)

Chinatown Museum
4th floor Imperial Wing Lucky Chinatown mall
Reina Regente Street, Binondo Manila.
Tuesdays - Saturdays 10AM - 6PM
Entrance fee is 150 pesos.    

Binondo got its name from the word "Binundok" because of its low hills. It started as a Dominican parish where several Chinese immigrants settled and offered their skills and wares. Hence, the nickname "Chinatown" which to this day and age remains a pivotal commercial hub.

The Katipunan was founded at the corner of Elcano and 
Azcarraga streets in 1892

Jose Ignacio Paua was the only pure Chinese to serve in the
Philippine revolution and Philippine-American war.

 

Ramon Ongpin, the owner of El 82, a hardware and arts supplies shop was 
also one of the financiers and suppliers of the 1896 Philippine revolution.

EL 82 got its name from the year it was established in 1882
and "82" was also the store's phone number

Alcaiceria translates to "Silk Market" a unique octagonal structure.
On the ground floor are shops selling textiles, jars and wares. The
upper floors were the housing quarters of transient Chinese merchants.

Tranvia was a streetcar transport from Manila to Malabon.
It was initially horse-drawn then eventually turned into electric powered streetcars.

The Binondo, Santa Cruz, Escolta area holds a special spot in my heart. My late parents would always regale us with stories about how beautiful these places were in the 1950 - 1960s era. The tree lined, well paved streets of Manila with the tranvia as one of the main means of transportation is well etched in my mind through the vivid description of Dad who grew up in Manila. 

Sad to say, those parts of Manila and Manila in general is very different, nowadays. It is very crowded, chaotic bustling with various vehicles from the traditional jeepneys, kuligligs, pedicabs, tricycles, to e-trikes. All of them jostling for position on the narrow, traffic laden and trash filled streets of Manila. There are peddlers on side walks and on pavements, pedestrians forced to walk on the streets where you can get sideswiped by tricycles or worse by snatchers. It is really unfortunate, talaga.

Thankfully, there are still museums which preserve artifacts and old photographs of our glorious past.