Like always, the Filipino-Chinese community in the Philippines welcomes the Lunar New Year with grand festivities. The Binondo area, Manila's Chinatown, is the epicenter of the celebration, drawing huge crowds from all over. Though I have lived in Manila for quite some time now, I have never witnessed the celebration first hand until recently, so I decided to head there early. Really early.


Before dawn a fellow photographer and I are already in front of the arch that leads to the heart of Chinatown. Its was deceptively empty, for within a few hours it will turn into a parking lot of cars and a sea of revelers.


Did you know that Manila's Chinatown is considered to be the oldest in the world? It was founded in 1594 during the colonial period as a settlement to Chinese immigrants who converted to Christianity. The area is right across Intramuros, the "walled city" that was the seat of the Spanish government at that time.

So here's a slice of my first Chinese New Year's day in Binondo:

Crowds!

By the time the shops opened, Ongpin St (Binondo's main street), was packed with a mix of revelers, vendors, news crews, dragon and lion dance troupes.

Charms, and more charms

If you are looking for stuff to improve your luck for the rest of the year, this is the best place and CNY is probably the best time to load up on these charms. Necklaces and pendants, bracelets, lucky fruits, lucky roots, and all sorts of lucky thingamajigs.

Lions and Dragons

One of the highlights in the CNY celebration are the lion and dragon dances. You can follow several groups around Binondo as they visit shops to perform, that is if you can weave through the crowds. The dances are believed to bring in good fortune to the business.

One particular attraction that was hard to miss was Sunlife's very long dragon (more than 100 segments!). Folks followed it around for a bit until midday rain cut the dances short.

Food!

Chinese New Year or not, food is always a good reason to visit Binondo.  But be prepared to stand in long queues, or postpone for lunch for much much later, or grabbing a very early one while the rest of the crowd are still happily enjoying the lion and dragon dances. One "technique" is to join "food tours" as these can guarantee you'll be able to eat - and eat all day you will.

Check this out for more of the CNY celebration in Binondo.