Manila gov’t eyes bigger events in Chinatown

MANILA, Philippines—The Manila City government is keen on using to its advantage the success of the recent Chinese New Year celebration which attracted around two million people to Chinatown.

Councilor Bernardito Ang said that an unprecedented number of people visited the Manila Chinatown in Binondo from Feb. 16 to 22 to witness the festivities welcoming the Year of the Sheep.

“We [at] City Hall estimated that around 1.5 to 2 million people went to Chinatown that week but the Manila Police District said that there were more than that, about 3 million,” Ang, who is also vice president of the Manila Chinatown Development Council, said in an interview.

He also shared that some traders in the area told him that they did brisk business in the days leading to the event. “Of course, when these business establishments get big revenues, it will translate into higher taxes for the city,” he added.

Ang said that the number of tourists who went to Chinatown this year set a record, well above their usual expectation of almost a million people every year. He attributed this primarily to the unified program of activities that the city organized in cooperation with businessmen and the Chinese-Filipino community.

He noted that before, different Filipino-Chinese groups in Chinatown would organize separate events like New Year’s Eve countdowns, parades, dragon dances and other gimmicks.

Mayor Joseph Estrada and the Manila Chinatown Development Council, however, set up a meeting with different organizations in Chinatown and pushed for a unified program of activities for the Chinese New Year and other events.

Ang said that the city government would work for the improvement of Manila Chinatown, considered the oldest in the world with its establishment in 1594.

“Because of the success of the Chinese New Year celebration, we are hoping to work on bigger and better things for other events such as the Mooncake Festival this September,” he added.