Immigrate to the Philippines and learn about life in the Philippines: Baguio City is a small city located within the Cordillera Mountains in the Mountain Province of northern Luzon, situated in the province of Benguet, Philippines. The entire city is picturesque, with old-style Spanish buildings nestled among lush mountain forests and pine trees throughout the city, making it a charming resort destination.
Baguio City is located north of the Philippine capital, Manila, in the western part of Luzon Island, and is a mountain city set amidst ranges. Coordinates: 16 degrees 25 minutes north latitude, 120 degrees 36 minutes east longitude. With a cool climate and beautiful scenery, it is known as the "Summer Capital" and is a famous tourist and recuperation destination. The city covers an area of nearly 50 square kilometers and has a population of about 200,000. Ninety percent of the residents are Catholic or Christian, with the remainder being Buddhist or Muslim.
Although Baguio is a mountain city that was once just a settlement for mountain tribes, it has now been built into a tourist destination. The city's population is only over 100,000, yet it receives hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists every year.
Baguio was originally a place where ethnic minorities such as the Igorot people of the northern Philippine mountains lived, and it has only been a city for about 80 years. With economic development, combined with beautiful natural scenery and a cool climate, it is an excellent summer retreat. The wealthy have flocked here to build villas and recreational facilities. The name "Baguio" means "scenery" in the local dialect. Later, overseas Chinese from Fujian referred to it as "Baguio" (Bi Yao) in the Minnan dialect, which is both phonetically similar and elegant. Ancient people referred to "Yaochi" as a "fairyland"; with its charming, mist-shrouded mountains, Baguio is truly like a fairyland.
Baguio is 300 kilometers from the capital, Manila, and it takes 5 hours to travel by car from Manila. Baguio is at an altitude of 1,450 meters with a cool climate, and the average annual temperature is 17.7℃, which is why it is called the "Summer Capital of the Philippines." There is a large temperature difference between Manila and Baguio. When people in Manila are suffering in the sweltering heat of 30℃, the weather in Baguio is cool enough to wear a jacket. No wonder some joke that in Manila, one only needs to wear a shirt all year round, and a suit would have no use. Only by going to Baguio does one have the opportunity to wear one, and this is indeed true.
Traveling north from Manila by car, after finishing the highway, the road continues north, winding up along steep, twisting slopes. Looking out from the car window, the overlapping mountains and rugged rocks are quite breathtaking.
