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.

Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the capital and second-most-populous city of the Philippines. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on the island of Luzon, it is classified as a highly urbanized city. As of 2019, it is the world's most densely populated city proper. It was the first chartered city in the country, and was designated as such by the Philippine Commission Act No. 183 on July 31, 1901. It became autonomous with the passage of Republic Act No. 409, "The Revised Charter of the City of Manila", on June 18, 1949. Manila is considered to be part of the world's original set of global cities because its commercial networks were the first to extend across the Pacific Ocean and connect Asia with the Spanish Americas through the galleon trade; when this was accomplished, it was the first time an uninterrupted chain of trade routes circling the planet had been established.