60 Fun Facts About Manila

On which island of the Philippines does Manila stand?

It sits on the eastern shore of Manila Bay and is one of the most densely populated cities on Earth.

Which river flows through the middle of Manila, dividing it north and south?

A 2003 report called it one of the most polluted rivers in the world.

Manila is the Philippines' capital, but which place has more people?

That neighbour was created in 1939 and served as the seat of government from 1948 for decades.

Which Spanish conquistador founded Spanish Manila on June 24, 1571?

He began the walled fortification on the ruins of an older settlement.

Who was the last indigenous ruler of Maynila, defeated at the Battle of Bangkusay in 1571?

The Spanish described the young crown prince as the most aggressive of the three local rulers they faced.

The name Maynilà is usually read as 'where ___ are abundant', referring to which plants?

Nilad is a mangrove shrub; nilà comes from the Sanskrit for indigo dye.

Which two cities join Manila as the world's 'original set of global cities'?

Its trade networks were the first to link Asia and the Spanish Americas across the Pacific.

With which Mexican port did the Manila galleons trade from 1565 to 1815?

Mexican and Peruvian silver was swapped for Chinese silk, Indian gems and Indonesian spices.

Which Augustinian friar-navigator pioneered the eastward return route to Mexico in 1565?

He and Alonso de Arellano rode the Kuroshio Current back to Mexico in 1565.

From where was Spanish Manila administered for the crown?

It was the capital of the Spanish East Indies, run through the Viceroyalty of New Spain.

Which European power occupied Manila for twenty months from 1762?

It came during the Seven Years' War; deserting Indian sepoys settled in nearby Cainta.

Which Manila district is regarded as the world's oldest Chinatown?

It was established in 1594 across the river from the walled city for Catholic Chinese converts.

What is the name of Manila's historic walled city?

It covers just 0.67 square kilometres and holds the cathedral and the country's oldest stone church.

Which 1571 citadel in the walled city held the national hero before his execution?

Bronze footsteps set in the ground trace his final walk from cell to execution ground.

Which Manila church, completed in 1607, is the country's oldest stone church?

It was listed in 1993 with three others as the Baroque Churches of the Philippines.

How many times has Manila Cathedral been rebuilt, the latest completed in 1958?

Earthquakes and war kept destroying it; the first was wrecked by a quake in 1600.

Which national hero was executed at Bagumbayan, now Luneta, on December 30, 1896?

His death helped galvanise the Philippine Revolution against Spain.

What marker at Luneta is the point from which Philippine road distances are measured?

Rizal Park, at 58 hectares, is described as the largest urban park in Asia.

Manila is represented by one of how many rays of the sun on the Philippine flag?

The rays stand for the first eight provinces to rise against Spain.

Which American commodore destroyed the Spanish squadron in Manila Bay on May 1, 1898?

The battle was the first major engagement of the Spanish-American War and ended Spanish rule.

Which American city planner drew up the 1905 plan to remake Manila?

He was invited by Governor-General William Howard Taft.

On what date did Japanese forces occupy Manila after it was declared an open city?

MacArthur had declared it open on December 26 to spare it, but Japanese planes bombed it anyway.

Roughly how many Filipino civilians were killed in the 1945 Battle of Manila?

Retreating Japanese forces under Rear Admiral Sanji Iwabuchi carried out the massacre.

Alongside which two European capitals is 1945 Manila ranked among the war's most devastated?

Almost all its pre-war and Spanish colonial architecture was lost.

Which president moved the seat of government out of Manila to a new suburban capital in 1948?

The suburban capital had been created in 1939 under Manuel L. Quezon.

Who became Manila's first elected mayor in 1952, ushering in a 'Golden Age'?

All previous mayors had been appointed; Antonio Villegas led the city for most of the 1960s.

What is Manila's pre-war nickname?

The city regained the moniker during its 'Golden Age' under its first elected mayor in the 1950s.

Under which president was Metro Manila created as a region in 1975?

Presidential Decree 824 joined four cities and thirteen towns into one unit.

What is the official residence of the president of the Philippines?

It stands in the San Miguel district and is often used as a metonym for the government.

Which pope refused to stay in Imelda Marcos's Coconut Palace in 1981 as too opulent?

The palace was partly financed with a levy meant for coconut farmers.

On what date did the Manila Hotel open, timed to a foreign national holiday?

It was built to rival Malacañang; MacArthur lived in its penthouse from 1935 to 1941.

Manila's airport is named after which politician assassinated on its tarmac in 1983?

His killing on August 21, 1983, helped set off the movement that toppled Marcos.

Where was the 1975 'Thrilla in Manila' actually fought?

The venue was temporarily renamed the Philippine Coliseum; Ali beat Frazier after 14 rounds.

Whose corner stopped the Thrilla in Manila after the 14th round?

Trainer Eddie Futch asked the referee to end it; the two men's rivalry finished 2-1 to Ali.

'Manila hemp' is fibre from which kind of plant?

Abacá, Musa textilis, is endemic to the Philippines and woven into the barong tagalog.

Which Manila festival on January 9 draws millions to follow a dark statue of Christ?

The Traslación re-enacts the statue's move to Quiapo Church.

Which Manila institution, founded in 1611, holds Asia's oldest extant university charter?

It was founded by Archbishop Miguel de Benavides and is run by the Dominicans.

Manila's famous public vehicles, jeepneys, were patterned after what?

They have run since the mid-to-late 1940s; a Sarao jeepney was shown at the 1964 New York World's Fair.

What is the horse-drawn carriage popular with tourists in the walled city called?

Motorcycle 'tricycles' and pedal 'trisikads' serve the rest of the city.

Manila's LRT Line 1, built under Marcos, was the first of what in Southeast Asia?

Despite its name it operates as a light metro.

Where did Waze's 2015 Global Driver Satisfaction Index rank Manila's traffic?

TomTom ranked it the second most congested city in 2019.

Which condominium tower behind the Rizal Monument was nicknamed the 'national photobomber'?

Begun in 2012, it ruined the sight line behind the Rizal Monument.

Which Tondo shopping district is called Manila's bargain 'shopping mecca'?

Its landmark is the Tutuban Center, on the site of the old railway terminal.

Manila is the world's second most disaster-exposed capital after which city?

Land subsidence and sea-level rise are its next challenges.

What is Manila's national sport, played on courts in almost every barangay?

Inter-barangay leagues run every April and May on covered courts.

Which two baseball legends hit the first home runs at Rizal Memorial Stadium in 1934?

The stadium hosted the defunct Baseball Philippines league.

Which mayor, elected 1992, was Manila's first Chinese-Filipino to hold the office?

He was known for his anti-crime crusades and was later succeeded by ex-president Estrada.

Which Manila-born mayor, a former actor, defeated Joseph Estrada in 2019?

He had served as vice mayor under both Lim and Estrada.

With 41,515 people per square km in 2015, Manila held which global ranking?

District 6 was the densest part at 68,266 per square km; the city's 2024 population was 1,902,590.

What architectural style did Spanish colonial builders invent to cope with Manila's earthquakes?

Churches and government buildings adopted it after quakes in 1645 and 1677 destroyed the stone-and-brick medieval city.

Which 2009 typhoon, known locally as Ondoy, caused one of Metro Manila's worst floods?

It killed 448 people in Metro Manila alone and prompted the city to dredge its rivers and upgrade drainage.

What is the 2.2-hectare Arroceros Forest Park on the Pasig River's south bank nicknamed?

Planned in 1993, it holds 61 native tree varieties and 8,000 ornamental plants in the middle of downtown.

How large is Rizal Park, described as the largest urban park in Asia?

Also known as Luneta, it honours the national hero executed there and holds the flagpole that serves as Kilometer Zero.

The August 1971 bombing that injured many Liberal Party politicians took place where?

Nine people died and 95 were injured, including senators and the party's mayoral candidate Ramon Bagatsing.

How was the building of the Intramuros walls partly funded in the 1590s?

Fines on excessive card play helped too, and Chinese goods were taxed for two years; construction ran from 1590 all the way to 1872.

How thick were the stone walls of Intramuros?

They rose to 22 feet, enclosed 64 hectares, and were ringed by an inner moat and an outer moat.

What share of Intramuros's structures survived the 1945 bombardment?

Forty percent of the walls were destroyed and two of the eight gates were badly damaged by American tanks.

How many original gates of Intramuros remain and have been restored or rebuilt?

They are the Isabel II, Parian, Real, Santa Lucía and Postigo gates; the walled city was declared a historical monument in 1951.

Which deposed Moluccan ruler was deported to Manila by the Spanish in 1606?

He and his entourage were initially enslaved and later converted to Christianity; some 200 mixed-descent families followed him.

Which 1869 event facilitated direct trade and communication between Manila and Spain?

Growing wealth and education then fostered the ilustrado class whose liberal ideas fed the independence movement.