Introduction

Before the Second World War, the aim of organizing the industrial products exhibition was to provide for the public and overseas buyers an open platform to learn of the industrial products manufactured in Hong Kong. After the War, the Chinese Manufacturers' Union (CMA) organized various kinds of activities and competitions to attract more spectators, such as photography contest, Miss Exhibition Pageant and others. The Exhibition gradually became a leisure activity for the public at large. In the 1960s and 1970s, with local manufacturers turning more attention to the local markets, CMA actively organized more recreational activities in the exhibitions including martial arts performances, product demonstrations, and promotion events by well-known movie or TV stars. Among them, the Miss Charity and Queen Charity Pageants organized by Hoe Hin Pak Fah Yeow was the most attractive. The exhibition therefore became an annual event for Hong Kong people to hang-out during Christmas and the New Year.