The vast Bahay Tsinoy museum showcases the important role played by the sangley, as the Spanish called the Chinese, in the growth of Manila (sangley means ‘itinerant merchant’ in the locally prevailing Hokkien dialect). There are lifelike dioramas depicting Chinese and mestizo (mixed Spanish-Filipino) life in the parian (ghettos), old coins and porcelain, and an excellent collection of photos.
