Bahay Tsinoy

Bahay tsinoy is from tagalog word “bahay” which means house and “tsinoy” which means Filipino-Chinese. Bahay tsinoy is a museum located at the Intramuros. It documents the history, lives and contribution of the Chinese in the Philippines’ life history. The museum is related to Dr. Jose Rizal because he was a 5th generation of patrilineal descendant of Domingo Lam-co who is a Chinese immigrant entrepreneur who sailed to the Philippines and married Inez de la Rosa, a Sangley of Luzon who is a descendant of those early Chinese-Filipinos or also known as tsinoy.
If I would be given a chance to tell my friends and my families about bahay tsinoy, I will suggest it to them because this place is a good place because the museum is a good stop for history-lovers even without Chinese lineage, is filled with well crafted, life sized exhibits documenting the history of the Tsinoys. The exhibits were so realistic and well-presented and clearly impressed. The museum is very organized taking you through the early contacts in pre-history, to the Spanish period and to the current-day involvement of the Filipino-Chinese in the country they now call home. I also loved and enjoyed reading the exhibits’ description and it is an eye-opener for us to be aware about the lives and contributions of Chinese in the history of the Philippines and of course for us not to forget that our national hero and most of our president was a descendant of Filipino-Chinese.
Today, we can notice that Tsinoys are very well integrated into the Filipino society serving as leaders and catalysts in their respective businesses and professions. A hallway honoring Filipino-Chinese who defended Philippine freedom in the past to public service advocates of the present are also featured. Throughout the Philippine history, the destiny of the Chinese-Filipinos has been closely intertwined. In every significant event that shaped the Philippines molded through the centuries as nation, the Chinese-Filipinos have marked their presence. They emerges the Tsinoy, the Chinese who is Filipino or the Filipino who is Chinese molded through the centuries by Philippine life, enriching this land with the legacies of Chinese heritage.