Bayawan

', officially the , or simply Bayawan City', is a of the Philippines in the province of,. According to the, it has a population of people.Bayawan is located about from the Dumaguete City, the provincial capital and near the provincial border with Negros Occidental. It is a coastal city with a land area of, the largest in the province. Mabinay bounds it to the north, Tanjay City and Bais City to the east, Sta. Catalina to the southeast and Basay to the west and it also shares a boundary with Kabankalan City of Negros Occidental on the northwest.Bayawan used to be known as New Tolong, and only had its modern name starting 1952.Bayawan City has two distinct climate seasons: the dry season, well pronounced in the months of January to May; and the wet season, in the months of June to December.Bayawan became a chartered city in December 2000. It boasts its distinction as a "Character City" (International Association of Character Cities) and a pioneer "Healthy City" (DOH certified) in the Philippines. Recently, the Asian Institute of Management recognized the city as "one of the Top 10 Best Cities to Live In in the Philippines (Small Cities Category)" under its Competitive Cities Survey 2007.HistoryIt was in 1751 when the Spanish friars first established their settlement. 116 years later, Tolong Nuevo (Bayawan’s former name) had existed as early as 1868 as part of Tolong Viejo (now the Municipality of Sta. Catalina). It was not until 1872 when she was formally organized as a pueblo.