Tondo

Farther north is the Tondo district, a squalid and overcrowded area reminiscent of the favelas of Brazil, the home of many rootless peasants who came in from the country in the hope of finding work in the capital. It is possible to continue by car beyond the Divisoria Market with its busy and colourful activity and Tutuban Station, on the north side of Claro M. Recto Avenue (small railway museum), to the Chinese cemetery of La Loma (just beyond the intersection of Rizal Avenue and Aurora Avenue). The cemetery, which is still in use, offers a striking contrast to the sordid district surrounding it. Its avenues are lined with mausoleums which are sometimes of considerable magnificence, decorated with wrought-iron and marble, sometimes equipped with a kitchen and bathroom, or even with air-conditioning; for nothing is too good for the Chinese in the world beyond the grave. A Buddhist temple guarded by two dragons offers an interesting example of religious syncretism, with its images of the Buddha and the Virgin rubbing shoulders with one another.