How Chinese-Filipinos navigate expressing their culture beyond Chinese New Year

In different parts of the world, maintaining one’s culture is part of a person’s identity, history, and community. For diaspora communities, keeping cultural traditions and practices alive helps them connect to their original roots even when they’re already in a new environment. 

An example of this is the Chinese-Filipino community in the Philippines.

Every year, Chinese New Year comes in different ways: a food trip to Binondo, giant dragon performances, 12 round fruits on the table, eating tikoy, and giving envelopes to family and friends. From the world’s oldest Chinatown in Binondo to the comforts of a family’s home, these celebrations go beyond traditions. They allow Chinese-Filipinos to preserve the traditions handed down by their ancestors, maintain a sense of inclusion, and stay connected to their Chinese roots while living fully as Filipinos.

But beyond the joy these festivities create, the other side of the picture is usually overlooked by many. How do the Chinese-Filipino people express their identities to others in their day-to-day lives?

Their ‘in-betweenness’ as Chinese-Filipino people

“[Chinese New Year is] a celebration of family, and in line with strong family ties, which is common in collectivist cultures, not just for the Chinese, but [the] same for the Filipinos. May close family ties din naman tayo. (We also have close family ties.) It’s a celebration of many things. It’s an excuse to go out and be bold and colorful, but it is also a celebration of our roots,” said Dr. Gilbert Jacob Que, a Chinese-Filipino assistant professor at the Ateneo de Manila University Communication Department.

A resident makes dragon dance costumes in preparation for the Chinese Lunar New Year, in Binondo, Manila, on February 1, 2026.

A third-generation Chinese-Filipino, Que said that his grandparents migrated to the Philippines decades ago. Now, they call this country their home, and are equally proud to celebrate their identities as Filipinos.

Despite living outside the motherland, Que and his family still deem it important to nurture their Chinese identities by taking part in major celebrations like Chinese New Year. 

“It means a lot more to us na pwede kaming mag-celebrate at maalala namin yung kultura namin na hindi namin makalimutan yung kultura namin even though we’ve been away from China,” he shared.

(It means a lot more to us that we can celebrate and remember our culture without forgetting it, even though we’ve been away from China.)

People flock to Manila’s Chinatown in Binondo to shop, eat out and to welcome the Chinese Lunar New Year, on February 17 2026.

Celebrating Chinese New Year comes with limitations. Before 2012, when the holiday was not yet a declared non-working in the Philippines, many families had to celebrate during a regular school or work day.

It was a burden many Chinese-Filipino individuals like Que had to face over the years. The biggest plot twist? His math exam fell on the same day as the Chinese New Year.

“I wore red to school to remember the day, but it felt weird. I wasn’t in a celebratory mood because I had an exam and classes,” he recalled in a mix of Filipino and English.

But even when Chinese New Year was officially declared a holiday in the Philippines, Que felt “discouraged” from publicly displaying his Chinese culture.

“Dati, nung bata ako, pag may nag-Chinese attire, ang sasabihin is, ‘Ang corny‘ ba’t parang kang lolo or lola pag naka-chongsam. Narinig ko one time na ‘pag nakasuot ka ng tangchong, baka isipin waiter ka sa Chinese restaurant,” Que shared.

(When I was young, if someone wore Chinese attire, people would say, ‘It’s cheesy,’ and that you looked like a grandparent if you wore a chongsam. I even heard once that if you wore a tangchong, people might think you were a waiter in a Chinese restaurant.)

Nowadays, people can wear a cheongsam or tangzhuang in public even without a special occasion. It’s even more common to see young women wearing contemporary qipao blouses on a normal day out. There is even a rise in the wearing of streetwear, like the viral Adidas Tang jacket, which has been worn by Filipino celebrities.

Is it really ‘performative’ to celebrate Chinese New Year?

For some, Chinese New Year is a celebration for Chinese-Filipino identity, but for others, they wonder if it is truly meaningful or just for show.

For Que, the answer is both — but not in a negative sense. Instead, it’s a way for people to outwardly share their culture with those around them.

“It was really meant for people to be seen in public spaces. It is important for us to preserve our culture,” he emphasized. 

The sky lights up with a drone lights show and fireworks display during the countdown to welcome the Chinese Lunar New Year in Binondo, Manila, on February 17, 2026.

“The performativity is exposure. Exposure of oneself to the culture and allowing others to be exposed to the culture, which is good. The less exposure you let people have, the less understanding we will achieve.”

He even mentioned that celebrations also serve as a bridge between Chinese-Filipinos and the wider Filipino community.

People flock to Manila’s Chinatown in Binondo to shop, eat out and to welcome the Chinese Lunar New Year, on February 17 2026.

“We cannot deny our Chineseness, but on the other hand, we are also here in the Philippines. We will use our culture as a way for people to understand us better. That is one of the other things that I feel is important to preserve the culture. You will not die if you cannot preserve the culture and there have been Chinese people who have assimilated so much into the Philippines that they have lost their Chineseness,” he shared in a mix of Filipino and English.

Having lived in the Philippines for decades, Que stressed that their culture and traditions as Chinese people are an intangible cultural attachment that they brought with them and will continue to carry.

“Matagal na kami dito. Mapaya pa ang pamumuhay namin. We are here to live with the Filipinos or live as Filipinos as well. But at the same time, we celebrate our culture. So parang it is a performative way to sort of navigate belonging.”

(We have been here for a long time. Our lifestyle is still peaceful. We are here to live with the Filipinos or live as Filipinos as well. But at the same time, we celebrate our culture. So it seems like it is a performative way to sort of navigate belonging.)

Do non-Chinese Filipinos celebrate it, too?

Third-generation Chinese-Filipino Justine Rodriguez shared that to her surprise, even non-Chinese Filipinos celebrate Chinese New Year.

People flock to Manila’s Chinatown in Binondo to shop, eat out and to welcome the Chinese Lunar New Year, on February 17 2026.

“Ngayon, parang everyone, including Filipinos or non-Chinese, [is] also celebrating it in their own way. Maybe it’s not in the same way that we’re doing it. Pero yung mga nagiging familiar na sila with their zodiac years, their fortunes, their prosperity,” she said.

(Now, it’s like everyone, including Filipinos or non-Chinese, [is] also celebrating it in their own way. Maybe it’s not in the same way that we’re doing it. But they have become more familiar with their zodiac years, their fortunes, their prosperity.)

“I think that’s kind of what’s interesting about how the event has evolved over the years,” she added.

Rodriguez pointed out that Chinese New Year must still be celebrated despite being in the “bigger world,” where different kinds of identities intersect.

“As we grow older, we kind of become part of the bigger world. That’s where obviously our race and our heritage becomes a smaller part of our lives. That one event is a nice way or is a nice reminder to continue celebrating who we are, our heritage, how we’re different, which I think is important even to the younger generation,” she stressed. 

For Chinese-Filipinos, celebrations like the Chinese New Year are more than just welcoming a new chapter in their lives. They become a way to show fully who they are and where they belong. As identities and societies evolve in the world, occasions like this remind them of who they are, the heritage they carry, and the balance they maintain between their Chinese roots and as Filipinos. – Rappler.com

Alfon Cabanilla is a Rappler intern studying AB Communication at Ateneo de Manila University.