Our photography group was at Binondo last Chinese New Year, along with several other photography groups like Avid Photographers and Canon Clickers Club. Binondo is a Mecca for street photographers because of the vast amount of subjects. It’s bustling with people from all walks of life. The center of activities is the plaza in front of the Binondo Church and the famous Ongpin Street. Children were dress up in traditional Chinese costumes, vendors selling all sorts of lucky charms, Castañas and 12 kinds of fruits available on the street, and Chinese lanterns everywhere.
February 19 was also declared by Malacañang as a Special Holiday so Binondo was literally full of people. It’s also a good time to try Chinese foods and Binondo has a lot of restaurants that offer Chinese cuisines. It became both as a photowalk and a food trip in one location. Chinese New Year celebration in Binondo is marked by numerous lion dances, dragon dance and a visit to Eng Bee Tin for the famous Tikoy.
In the morning, Unang Hirit staffs were there to cover the event including Pop Talk host Tonipet Gaba and TV5 anchors as well. In the afternoon, there was a parade of the Manila City government officials including Vice Mayor Isko Moreno. As pointed out by my photography friend, it could have been better if they really dress up the floats, similar to Baguio’s Panagbenga. In that way, more people would flock Binondo during the Chinese New Year Festival.
Here are some of the photos I took of this event.
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