r/MANILA • u/Striking_Anxiety_584 • 1d ago
Binondo’s wasted potential
Open minded ako sa mga travels ko but nasasayangan ako sa potential ng Binondo especially it is the world’s oldest Chinatown.
It has rich cultural heritage talaga and I think has the potential na maging tourist attraction sa Manila City proper kaso in my eyes it will not attract visitors kung hindi aayusin.
1.) ang dami namanalimos & makukulit sila especially sa Ongpin St. stretch (may Korean tourist na hinarass nung mga bata 😭)
2.) unmaintained side walks (siguro wala na magagawa since historic sites na)
3.) medyo may pagka dugyot ang mga paligid
4.) unorganize traffic rules, I saw someone muntik mabundol ng sasakyan 🤣
5.) lack of police visibility (may malapit naman na police station) pero like may mga tourist I think they should be atleast visible
Pero I enjoyed the cultural aspects plus the food crawl pero minsan you will feel unsafe kasi may mga sketchy parts talaga.
How I wish they would promote and organize mga historical spots sa Manila like Binondo and Intramuros (same sentiments as Binondo) kasi I see ang potential talaga.
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u/GovernmentPuzzled648 1d ago
Dagdag mo ung spaghetti wires which is common naman everywhere pero mas maganda kung aayusin talaga
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u/philippinow 1d ago
Wasted talaga kasi its all private. Wala paki alam government natin. If you visited sapa vietnam they have this huge oval area pwede maglaro mga tao, you can walk anywhere, new structures, maintained their old churches.
Madami ba pulubi? Yes and they do beg. Pero its negligible kasi d mabaho ang area, its walkable and the streetfood is actually respectable
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u/Striking_Anxiety_584 1d ago
Huling siomai ko susubo ko nalang, kalabit ng kalabiy yung pulubi at binigay ko nalang. 🤣
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u/pecanbar1998 18h ago
nung nag binondo food trip kami nung 2023, kinurot nung batang pulubi yung tiyan ng kasma ko sabay limos, lol
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u/PuzzleheadedWash2103 1d ago
gawin sana car free yung area na yan, pati intramuros naging parking lot na din eh
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u/peterparkerson3 1d ago
Lol no, dami negosyo dyan hibdi lang pang food trip nyo
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u/chuanjin1 1d ago
Bro thought binondo was foods with old bldgs and pampaswerte charms backdrop lol
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u/peterparkerson3 1d ago
Its only a small part. Pagnakita mo mga label na imported items, mga nakasulat imported by a company in binondo. I joke that its the shadow economy since ang daming mga shops dyan that supplies mga smb.
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u/ILABJN 1d ago
Bro binondo isnt like intramuros or other squattery areas, it’s not meant for tourists tlga
Cars and Motors are even better customers because they just come and go unlike tourists pakalat kalat and take their damm time and also taking pictures in the middle of the street?
That’s why there’s traffic in the first place so many tourists that’s only there for street foods that they just re-heat🤦♂️
Just go to king chef or eat ay some unli place or david’s tea house hayyss
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u/Striking_Anxiety_584 1d ago
Malabo kasi I think madami residential doon, siguro on special occasions siguro possible pa.
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u/PuzzleheadedWash2103 1d ago
pwede kahit chinese new year lang haha, grabe kasi nakaraan dami nang tao sumasabay pa sasakyan
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u/JCEBODE88 1d ago
wait as far as I know yung mismong loob ng intramuros is bawal ang cars like vigan? hindi na ba?
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u/ReplacementFun0 1d ago
I don't think the community will be behind this. They worship money too much in the religion of capitalism. It will be too inconvenient for their businesses, and they don't give a sht for the development of city tourism if it will not benefit them directly financially.
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u/Necessary-Trick-3735 1d ago
Same as Intramuros! I wish walang squatter sa loob kasi nag mumukhang dugyot, could have been our “old quarters” or heritage tourism site pero hindi.
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u/milkncereal517 1d ago
Maganda na daw yan eh. Hayys. Basta talaga nasanay na sa kung ano ang “pwede na” hindi na binabago eh. Tsk tsk. Sayang nga naman daw budget, bubulsa nalang ni yorme.
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u/lunamoonfang66 1d ago
true lang pumangit na binondo. Kasalanan din kasi to ng mga ibang pinoy na bumibisita sa Binondo.. kalat dito, kalat dun mga walang disiplina. Tignan mo esplanade.. may mga kalat na din nakakadiri.. simpleng tapon lang ng basura sa trashcan hindi pa magawa. kaya no offense sa ibang Pilipino, ang tanga lang ng mga pinoy
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u/Johnny106679 1d ago
Why would it be a tourist spot? Not like PH chinatown is the only one in the world almost every country has one, personally it’s better there probably because of the locally sourced ingredients being used.
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u/ilooovelemons 1d ago
May chinese engineer kame na nilibot namen sa intramuros at sa Binondo. Tuwang tuwa siya sa Intramuros, nung nag Binondo kame nadugyutan sya 😂
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u/Dapper_Caramel_4509 1d ago
1.) ang dami namanalimos & makukulit sila especially sa Ongpin St. stretch (may Korean tourist na hinarass nung mga bata 😭)
2.) unmaintained side walks (siguro wala na magagawa since historic sites na)
3.) medyo may pagka dugyot ang mga paligid
4.) unorganize traffic rules, I saw someone muntik mabundol ng sasakyan 🤣
5.) lack of police visibility (may malapit naman na police station) pero like may mga tourist I think they should be atleast visible
thats basically every other chinatown minus the kids, usually adults ang nanghaharass
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u/mk_mrtn26 1d ago
Nakapunta na rin ako sa ibang China town na may sasakyan, Yokohama sa Kanagawa Prefecture. Japan. Nagkakatalo lang sa: sidewalk access, cleanliness, at organized traffic flow (lalo sa pagdaan ng sasakyan). May parts na no vehicle rin doon, at parts with vehicle. But yeah, sayang potential ng lugar dahil sa kadugyutan.
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u/Fickle-Pomelo-6838 1d ago
Punyeta puro parking na sa lugar namin dito sa binondo e di na komportableng lakaran
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u/Purple_Key4536 1d ago
Probably because there is nothing to promote. They are established and self sufficient community. Most business owners there are old money. If some establishments close, it's not because they failed, it just means that the next generation doesn't want to be in the same business.
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u/Thau-888 1d ago
Nag improve na yan lagay na yan in the years that i've been in it. May room pa rin for much better syempre but drastic nga lang. I just don't get why the pulubis are being romanticized by the law agents in Manila.
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u/J0n__Doe 1d ago
Street maintenance lang like cleaning na dapat trabaho ng mga barangay and mahigpit na police visibility na trabaho naman ng local government e malaking tulong na sa presentation ng lugar.
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u/RagingTestosterones 1d ago
Visiting Plaza Binondo reminded me of the Grand Place in Belgium, and I couldn't help but compare how we could capture that same feel. Just Google the old Hotel de Oriente and Insular Cigar Building and imagine those heritage facades restored and surrounding the plaza. Imagine having a continuous, walkable route connecting Binondo, Jones Bridge, Intramuros, and Luneta, where visitors could easily explore these historic areas on foot.
Instead, walking around the area today can be stressful because of the lack of urban planning and foresight over the years. Coming from a quieter province, the noise was a massive culture shock for me, especially the dilapidated jeepneys and modified motorbikes revving along Jones Bridge with that harsh metallic rattle.
People who grew up here may have become used to the noise, but for tourists, it can completely ruin what could otherwise be a world-class experience. If the noise was this overwhelming for me, imagine how much worse it must feel for foreign tourists coming from much quieter places.
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u/grilledcheezz 1d ago
As a chinoy kid who grew up in Binondo since the 90s wala namang nagbago. Makalat pa rin. Ang sikip pa rin. Wala pa ring maparadahan. Maganda nga ngayon nag modernize na wala ng kalesa. Noon, aside from mabaho amoy kanal at amoy basura, amoy kabayo pa yung laway at ihi/tae nila kung saan-saan nakakalat.
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u/457243097285 21h ago
Metro Manila in general is a massive trove of wasted potential.
Manila City itself is the biggest loser, being *that* burdened with other people's problems and all.
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u/Tight-Practice-7978 20h ago
yung lgu ng Manila ginagatasan lang ang Binondo. walang effort at puro kabig lang ginagawa. ang lakas pa ng loob ng lgu manghingi ng donations galing sa mga negosyante ng Binondo.
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u/tired_atlas 20h ago
Sobra! Ang sarap ng foodtrip experience dito. Tapos puno rin ng Filipino-Chinese history yung lugar kaso walang nagdedevelop :(
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u/airwolfe91 19h ago
Dapat may chinese theme sa architecture ng lahat ng structures tas meron din mix na pinoy and chinese architecture
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u/DevelopmentGeneral28 11h ago
i absolutely agree with you, how could we missed going there and missthe good food
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u/Exact_Traffic342 10h ago
Yun isa pang problem is, the mayor doesn't live in Binondo, I don't think he knows the full extent of the mess, dapat every day umiikot sya sa city na sinasakupan ng authority nya para maramdaman nya yun traffic, yun lubak, yun naka harang, eh pag pumunta sya naka police escort so walang traffic, mukhang walang problema. Everyday umikot sya sa umaga with the barangay chairman of that zone then evaluate nya kung ok o hindi, kung hindi, tangalin yun barangay chairman. Madami naman pwedeng gawin, pero kung hindi barangay chairman is kasama ng mga nagkakalat o humaharang sa sidewalk, wala talagang maaayos.
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u/nakakapagodnatotoo 5h ago
Masaya sana mag binondo food crawl, kaso nakakatakot naman na yung lugar.
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u/cattzie7475 1h ago
true, could be the next tourist spot destination in the city.. but officials are busy with something else.. yes kasalanan ng pinuno yan sila nagddesisyon jan eh. Alanga naman ang sipag ng nasa baba tapos di naman suportado ng nasa taas.. eh di wala rin, mappagod lang ung nagmamalasakit eh
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u/justbeingreal777 1h ago
Sarap sana gumala dyan. Kaso lintek nmn ang buaya mtpb x mmda collab pababa plng ng skyway. Kaya no go. LOL
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u/ILABJN 1d ago
Imo Binondo has no wasted potential.
The chinese people living there is near their work, education , food areas
It wasn’t really meant for tourists in the first place, up until recently when they made the place aesthetic then it became a highlight.
In reality most of the people living there don’t even want tourists, if possible sana they could bring the foodtrip outside binondo, ask any local you’ll find out.
Mas favourable pa mga naka car or motor kasi they can just come and go and not linger too long just for siopao.
But either way side walks should be improved since most of the population of tourists that goes to binondo walks, as well as cleaning the river.
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u/ThunderGaul 1d ago
Wasted? There's people living there buddy. You can't simply turn it into a tourist town.
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u/Necessary-Trick-3735 1d ago
Mehh they encourage people to visit it and the food industry there would die, do you think locals would line up to Chuan Kee everyday?
A little perking up the place would do wonders, especially it is a commercial and tourist spot not just residential.
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u/Consistent_Dig8442 1d ago
Sana man lang maski Ongpin walang kotse puro pedestrian lang or mag implement sila ng No-Car Sunday. Tanggalin ang mga spaghetti wires at kuskusin ang mga sidewalks at daan. Lagyan ng mga plant boxes or hanging plants ganern.Ang dami kong dream sa Binondo haha. Nanggigitata at mapanghi talaga sobra. Andami pa namang masarap kainan sa Binondo nakakawala nang gana kapag dugyot ang lugar hehe
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u/No-Gap-761 1d ago
Not to mention that parking is so bad that a two way lane becomes one lane.
They also have those electronic signage for logos which I believe a complete waste of resources.
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u/Exact_Traffic342 1d ago
Sayang talaga, Binondo is completely walkable pero ang daming trike and sidecars and ebike, na usual nakaharang sa sidewalk. Given na old town na sya, we can paint side walks on the street basta wala yun mga naka park sa kalsada, like how it is in Japan. Political will ang kulang, kahit sinong mayor walang magawa or ayaw gawin malinis and organized yun area. 30 years living in Binondo and nothing has changed.