Sampaloc, Manila

Sampaloc
District
Pedestrians crossing Nicanor Reyes Street in Sampaloc, Manila
Nickname:  University Belt
Coordinates: 14°36′11″N 121°0′8″E / 14.60306°N 121.00222°E / 14.60306; 121.00222
Country	Philippines
Region	National Capital Region
City	Manila
Congressional District	4th District of Manila
Barangays	192
Area
• Total	5.1371 km2 (1.9834 sq mi)
Population  (2020)
• Total	388,305
• Density	76,000/km2 (200,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+08:00 (Philippine Standard Time)
ZIP Code	1008 (Sampaloc West) 1015 (Sampaloc East)
Area codes	02

Sampaloc is a district of Manila, Philippines. It is referred to as the University Belt or simply called "U-Belt" for numerous colleges and universities are found within the district such as the University of Santo Tomas, the oldest extant university in Asia; the National University, the first private nonsectarian and coeducational institution in the Philippines; the Far Eastern University, known for its Art Deco campus and cultural heritage site of the Philippines; and the University of the East, once dubbed as the largest university in Asia in terms of enrollment. The district is bordered by the districts of Quiapo and San Miguel in the south, Santa Mesa district in the south and east, Santa Cruz district in the west and north, and Quezon City in the northeast.

Aside from being the "University Belt", Sampaloc is also known to Metro Manila and the surrounding provinces for its Dangwa flower market, located in Dimasalang Road, well known as the selling center for cut flowers from all over the Philippines, mainly Baguio. Sampaloc is also the location of a former colonial mansion, now called Windsor Inn, which is popular among backpackers and budget travelers.

Barangays 395 to 636 of the City of Manila would all have belonged to Sampaloc and comprise 241 barangays for the district.^[1] However, what are now known as barangays 587-636 became part of Santa Mesa when these areas were separated from Sampaloc after Santa Mesa became a separate parish in 1911. Santa Mesa is now a part of the 6th congressional district of Manila, while Sampaloc is the sole district comprising the 4th congressional district of Manila.

Many streets in Sampaloc, particularly in the northeast portion divided by España and Lacson Avenues and also street names in neighboring Quezon City, have names that are directly associated with the Philippine national hero José Rizal, either named after the places (e.g. Calamba, Dapitan), real-life people (e.g. Blumentritt), characters from his novels (e.g. Ibarra, Maria Clara) or his pen names (e.g. Laong Laan, Dimasalang).