Chinese Traders in a Philippine Town: From Daily Competition to Urban Transformation. Based on 30 years of anthropological field research, this book addresses two aspects of a provincial town in the Philippines. First, it examines the town's Chinese trade community as composed of individuals and families who follow commercial ends with varying degrees of success by means of a wide range of competitive tactics. Second, it describes changes the town has experienced during recent decades and how these have been to a large degree the result of long-term, commercial strategies. In the first part of study, the experience of a textile merchant, his family, and acquaintances during the past 40 years serve as a linchpin around which dimensions in the daily life of the town's Chinese community are illustrated. In the second part, the focus of this study shifts to more diachronic approach in an effort to understand changes in the town's built environment, especially as reflected in retail facilities such as traditional market places and modern malls. The careers of a few, local Chinese entrepreneurs are traced. Of special interest is the manner in which their competitive relations, while trying to dominate the local economic/political scene, has impacted on the town's development.