For some reason, there are a lot of jewelers here in Manila’s Chinatown. And I mean a lot. The main drag of Chinatown is Ongpin Street and it is lined with numerous jewelers. Some of them have been there forever, while some of them, particularly the ones at the end of Ongpin Street are quite recent. These shops are packed so close together that there is hardly space for customers to move. Yet, these stores are usually packed. Thus Chinatown is known for inexpensive jewelry. I guess it shows alos the Filipino penchant for jewelry, watching people shop here just looking straight down at the display stand was quite amusing. It is a wonder though how these shops manage to earn money to pay for the staff and the rent, what with so much competition.
At the end of Ongpin Street is the another arch of goodwill. This arch marks the end of Chinatown but also marks the start of another old district Sta. Cruz. The arch of goodwill stands as a silent reminder of the friendship and intertwined fates of the Filipino people and the immigrant Chinese. After all, numerous personalities in the country’s history turns out to have some form of Chinese ancestry with them. A few examples are national hero Jose Rizal, first Filipino saint Lorenzo Ruiz, the late President Corazon Aquino, the late Jaime Cardinal Sin and current Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim. From these list of prominent personalities, it would be obvious that these descendants of Chinese immigrants have made the Philippines their home and as with their life story, they have done their part to make it great.
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