Davao Chinatown
The only Chinatown in Mindanao, The Davao Chinatown, is located in Davao City, which is also the largest Chinatown in the country with a land area of 44 hectares. Because of this expansive area, it is a part of four barangays, and encompasses the streets of Ramon Magsaysay Avenue, Monteverde Avenue, Sta. Ana Avenue, and Leon Garcia. The area Barangays 27-C and 30-C was declared as Davao Chinatown in 2003.
Similar to the one in Manila, the Davao Chinatown exhibits the cultural connection between Filipinos and Chinese. It's one of the highly recommended tourist spots to visit in Davao.
In order to conserve the area's cultural heritage, the Davao City Chinatown Development Council, or DCCDC, was established. This is also to implement policies in Davao Chinatown and also have proper management in the area.
The Davao Chinatown features 4 archways: the Arch of Friendship, the Arch of Unity, the Arch of Peace, and the Arch of Prosperity. It also has temples for worship that are also visited by many tourists. The temples are the Long Hua Buddhist Temple, which is the largest Buddhist temple in Mindanao; the Polian Temple, which is the oldest Buddhist Temple in the city; the Santiago Temple; and the Mindanao Taoist Temple. There are also churches inside Chinatown, which are the Davao Chinese Baptist Church and the Santa Ana Parish Church.
More establishments that you'll find inside Davao Chinatown are restaurants, five shopping malls with their famous 168, and other retail and wholesale stores, where they sell affordable fruits, vegetables, and other goods that are made in China.
There are jeepneys, buses, and multicabs within the city, and there are also cabs you can book to take you to Davao Chinatown. All the establishments within Chinatown can be reached through a jeepney ride, or you can also walk if you want to.
Since Davao Chinatown is bordered by four streets and avenues, you can easily alight from any of these streets.
Best time to visit
The Best time to go to Davao is during the dry and summer seasons of January to May, so it's easier to walk along the area of Davao Chinatown.
You can also go to Davao in the third week of August so you can partake in the Kadayawan Festival and then visit Chinatown.
The Davao Chinatown is open to tourists daily, so you can visit this tourist attraction everyday. Expect that many people visit Davao Chinatown every weekend or holidays.
