The Davao Chinatown is the

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Aust ...

located in

Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dabaw; ), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the largest city in the Philippines in terms of land ...

and the only one in

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

. It is the primary residential area of the Chinese Philippine community in the city. The area is bordered by Santa Ana Avenue, Monteverde Avenue, Ramón Magsaysay Street and León García Street. It is the Philippines' largest Chinatown by area with a total land area of 44 hectares and is part of four ''

barangays A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...

''.

History

In 2003, the city's then mayor

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...

issued an

executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...

declaring portions of Barangays 27-C and 30-C where Filipino Chinese residences and businesses were concentrated to be the city's Chinatown. The Davao City Chinatown Development Council (DCCDC) was established to assist the conservation of the area's cultural heritage and the implementation of policies in that regard. It is also charged with the management of commerce in the area. The Council saw it fitting to formally launch the city's own Chinatown during the

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly referred to as the Spring Festival () a ...

2009, which fell on 26 January, through a week-long festival that ran from January 24 through January 31 of that year.

The archways

These 4 archways in Davao Chinatown are donated and sponsored by the Chinese Philippine community: *The first arch is the Arch of Friendship (友誼門), located near Jones Circle; *The second one is the Unity Arch (融合門), located at the end of Magsaysay Avenue where its own seaport is located; *The third one is the Arch of Peace (和平門), located at the corner of Santa Ana and J. P. Laurel Avenues right beside

Davao Chong Hua High School Davao Chong Hua High School (), formerly known as Davao Chinese High School (1924—1976) and Davao Central High School (1976—2016), is the first Chinese school in Davao City, established on June 3, 1924. It is a private, nonsectarian school si ...

; *The fourth and last arch is the Arch of Prosperity (繁榮門), located along Santa Ana Avenue and León García Street. The Chinese archways are inspired by ''páilou'' (牌樓) or ''páifāng'' (牌坊), a traditional style of Chinese architectural

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vau ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

Places of worship

Temples are the place of worship for

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and

Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...

. These notable temples are also visited by tourists visiting in the city. * Long Hua Buddhist Temple is the largest Buddhist temple in the island of Mindanao, it is located on J.P. Cabaguio Avenue in Agdao District. It is 3-4 kilometers northeast of the center of the city. *Polian Temple is one of the oldest Buddhist Temples in Davao City. The Polian Temple is located on Quirino Avenue, between Emilio Jacinto Extension and J. P. Laurel Ave. It is surrounded by high walls. *Santiago Temple is situated on a property near

Gaisano Mall of Davao Gaisano Mall of Davao, branded as GMall of Davao, is a major shopping mall located along J.P. Laurel Avenue, Bajada, Davao City, Philippines, part of the Gaisano Malls operated by DSG Sons Group, Inc. with a gross land area of , and a total f ...

. Built in 1957, it was once visible from J. P. Laurel Avenue but a new building was built in front of it. Until now it was hidden from direct view that is accessible only by a narrow street alley. *The Mindanao Taoist Temple is located between Cabaguio Ave. and Dacudao, Adgao District. *Davao Chinese Baptist Church, located at Guzman St, Poblacion District, Davao City *The Santa Ana Parish Church is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

church located on Santa Ana Avenue.

Establishments

Shopping malls, hardware stores, restaurants, retail and wholesale stores can be found within the Chinatown. It is the major trade hub of Chinese Filipinos in Davao City. Affordable and cheap goods such as fruits, vegetables and dry goods are available in small kiosks and stalls. Institutions located within Chinatown, such as

, a

non-sectarian Nonsectarian institutions are secular institutions or other organizations not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group. Academic sphere Examples of US universities that identify themselves as being nonsectarian include Adelp ...

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

Chinese school A Chinese school () is a school that is established for the purpose of teaching the varieties of Chinese (in particular, Mandarin and Cantonese), though the purpose can vary to teaching different aspects of Chinese culture such as Chinese art, ca ...

, offer Chinese

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

classes to students in the Philippines.

Transportation

Jeepneys Jeepneys (), sometimes called jeeps (), are minibus-like public utility vehicles, serving as the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines. They are known for their crowded seating and kitsch decorations, which have become ...

and multicabs are accessible within the city.

Cabs C mathematical operations are a group of functions in the standard library of the C programming language implementing basic mathematical functions. All functions use floating-point numbers in one manner or another. Different C standards provide d ...

have several destinations and are built with GPS or the

Global Positioning System The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite ...

References