Cebu

Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu, is a 1st class highly urbanized city of the island of Cebu in the Central Visayas Region, Philippines. It is the most populous in Visayas.

It is the regional center of Central Visayas and is the seat of government for the province of Cebu, but is governed separately from it. The city is a significant center of commerce, trade and education in Visayas. It is the Philippines' main domestic shipping port and is home to about 80% of the country's domestic shipping companies.

Located in the middle of the eastern side of Cebu Island, it is the center of Metro Cebu, the second largest metropolitan area in the Philippines by population, economy and land area, which includes the cities of Carcar, Danao, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue, Naga and Talisay and the municipalities (towns) of Compostela, Consolacion, Cordova, Liloan, Minglanilla and San Fernando.

Metro Cebu had a total population of 2,849,213 as of 2015, making it the second-most populous metropolitan area of the nation, after Metro Manila in Luzon.

Cebu is the country's oldest city; it was the first Spanish settlement and the first capital of the Philippines. It is the "Second City" of the Philippines. The city is considered the birthplace of Christianity in the Far East.

Cebu is bounded on the north by the town of Balamban and the city of Danao, on the west by the city of Toledo, on the east by the cities of Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue and the towns of Liloan, Consolacion and Compostela and on the south by the city of Talisay.

Cebu City has a land area of 315 square kilometres (122 sq mi). To the northeast of the city is Mandaue City and the town of Consolacion; to the west is Toledo City and the towns of Balamban and Asturias; to the south is Talisay City and the town of Minglanilla.

Across Mactan Strait to the east is Mactan island where Lapu-Lapu is located. Further east across the Cebu Strait is the island of Bohol.

CLIMATE

Cebu City has a tropical monsoon climate under the Köppen climate classification. The city has a lengthy wet season and a short dry season, with only the months of March and April falling into the latter season. Average temperatures show little variance during the year with average daily temps ranging from 27 °C (81 °F) to 29 °C (84 °F).

The city on averages experiences roughly 1,700 millimetres (67 in) of precipitation annually.

ARTS & CULTURE

Cebu City is a significant cultural center in the Philippines. The imprint of Spanish and Roman Catholic culture is evident.

The city's most famous landmark is Magellan's Cross. This cross, now housed in a chapel, is reputed to have been erected by Ferdinand Magellan (Fernão Magalhães) when he arrived in the Philippines in 1521. It was encased in hollow tindalo wood in 1835 upon the order of the Augustinian Bishop Santos Gómez Marañon to prevent devotees from taking it home chip by chip.

A few steps away from Magellan's Cross is the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño (Church of the Holy Child). This is an Augustinian church elevated to the rank of basilica in 1965 during the 400th anniversary celebrations of Christianity in the Philippines, held in Cebu. The church, which was the first to be established in the islands, is built of hewn stone and features the country's oldest relic, the figure of the Santo Niño de Cebú (Holy Child of Cebu), who is Jesus Christ as a Child.

This religious and cultural event is celebrated during the island's cultural festivities known as the Sinulog festival. Held every third Sunday of January, it celebrates the festival of the Santo Niño, who was formerly considered to be the patron saint of Cebu. The Sinulog is a dance prayer ritual of pre-Hispanic indigenous origin.

When the Spaniards arrived in Cebu, the Italian chronicler Antonio Pigafetta, sailing under convoy with the Magellan expedition, offered a baptismal gift to Hara Amihan, wife of Rajah Humabon. She was later named Juana, the figure of the Santo Niño.

In the 1980s and 2000s, the city authorities of Cebu added the religious feast of Santo Niño de Cebú during the Sinulog Festival to its cultural event.

TOURISM

Tourism is a thriving industry in Cebu.

There is a significant number of Filipino-Spanish heritage buildings in Cebu City such as Fort San Pedro, Basilica del Santo Niño, Magellan's Cross, and the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral. The city hosts the Museo Sugbo and Casa Gorordo Museum. The Cebu Taoist Temple is also situated within the city.

ROADS & HIGHWAYS

Transportation throughout the city and the metropolitan itself is provided by jeepneys, buses and taxis.

In March 2019, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board announced the opening of a new Premium Point-to-Point Bus Service in Cebu City with three express bus routes to Lapu-Lapu, Danao and Sibonga.

SEAPORTS

The city is served by a domestic and international port which are handled by the Cebu Port Authority. Much of the city's waterfront is actually occupied by the port with around 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) of berthing space. The city is home to more than 80% of the country's island vessels traveling on domestic routes mostly in the Visayas and Mindanao.

AIRPORTS

Mactan–Cebu International Airport, located in Lapu-Lapu City, is the country's second-busiest airport and serves direct international flights to Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, China, Taiwan, Dubai and South Korea, with charter flights to Russia and domestic destinations. There are also direct transfer flights via the capital's Ninoy Aquino International Airport that readily connect the city to other destinations in the world.