The Quezon City Chinatown was launched Friday as the city's Filipino-Chinese community welcomed the "Year of the Wooden Horse" with a celebration rivaling that of Binondo district in neighboring Manila.
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| The Chinaton Arch in Banawe St., QC: Metro Manila’s new Chinatown. |
More than 150 restaurants in the city’s Santa Mesa Heights district offered special discounts, promotions and freebies with the busy Banawe Street already bedecked with bright red lanterns days before the new moon that marked the lunar new year.
The afternoon before lunar new year, paper-mache dragons and lions began to prance around the district’s streets ahead of the cultural performances, fireworks, flea markets and street parties that followed .
Led by Mayor Herbert Bautista and Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte, it was the first time the Quezon City Hall led a celebration of Chinese New Year and also the first since the inauguration last October of welcome arches that formally defined the city’s Chinatown.
But Filipinos with Chinese roots have been living in the area when it was an upscale subdivision, called Sta. Mesa Heights, where politicians and other celebrities lived.
The subdivision has since been absorbed into the mainstream of the city and its Chinese Filipinos spreading to neighboring barrios.
Today, the city’s “Chinatown” comprise, wholly or partly, of the 10 barangays of Santo Domingo, Lourdes, Santa Teresita, San Isidro Labrador, Salvacion, Paang Bundok, Maharlika, N. S. Amoranto, Saint Peter and Siena.
Belmonte, the city’s tourism czar, said the city hopes to promote the area as a tourist destination and plans are afoot to transform the QC Chinatown into one of the premier destinations in the city.
Through this event, the Quezon City Government aims to celebrate the City’s Chinese heritage, recognize the great contribution of the Filipino-Chinese Community to its development and to further strengthen ties with them.
The new year event was also backed by important Chinese-Filipino groups in the city: the QC Chinatown Development Foundation, Inc., the QC Association of Filipino-Chinese Businessmen, the QC Chinatown Business Association, Inc., and the Banawe Auto Parts and Accessories Association.
Other partners for the Chinese New Year Celebration are the Philippine Institute of Quezon City, Philippine Buddha Care Academy, Philippine Cultural College, Angelicum College, Philadelphia School, National Orthopedic Hospital School for Crippled Children, Shin Lian Chinese Orchestra, Overseas Chinese Alumni Association of the Philippines, Philippine Kong Han Association, and the barangays in the vicinity.
The development of Banawe Street as a special economic growth area has since been provided under Ordinance 1573 which was approved October 12, 2005 during the term of House Speaker Belmonte as QC mayor.
Under the ordinance, the city government will set aside at least P2 million to develop Banawe into a special economic growth area, which include the vicinity traversed by Banawe Avenue, from E. Rodriguez to Sgt. E. Rivera.
The project is expected to boost city tourism and business investments in the Banawe commercial district, which is now considered as Metro Manila’s new Chinatown. --Source: Manila Standard Today