Binondo Church

The Minor Basilica of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz - Binondo Church to everyone - stands on the plaza at the centre of Binondo, the district the Spanish established in 1594 for Chinese converts to Catholicism and which is generally described as the oldest Chinatown in the world. The original church was founded by Dominicans in the same period; the granite octagonal bell tower survives from the eighteenth-century structure, while the rest was destroyed in 1945 and rebuilt afterwards, with the dome and much of the interior dating from that reconstruction. The dedication is to Lorenzo Ruiz, a Chinese-Filipino sacristan from this parish who was martyred in Japan in the 1630s and became the country's first canonised saint. The church is busy: Masses are said in Filipino, English and Hokkien, and the plaza outside is a permanent scrum of vendors, jeepneys and the food carts that make Binondo the city's best eating district.

What you actually see

• The granite bell tower - the octagonal survivor of the old church.
• The dome and nave - the post-war rebuilt interior.
• The Lorenzo Ruiz dedication - shrine to the parish's own saint.
• The plaza outside - Chinatown's crowds and food carts.

When to go

Mornings on weekdays for a quieter church. Chinese New Year fills the whole district; the church itself is busiest at weekend Masses.

Honest expectations

Most of the building is post-1945 reconstruction; only the tower is old. It is a working parish - dress modestly and expect services in progress. The surrounding streets are extremely congested.

Nearby

Escolta Street is a short walk west; Quiapo Church and the Ongpin food streets are close by.