Crowds flock to Hong Kong Book Fair for art, animation and food culture

Hundreds of visitors queued up outside the halls of the Hong Kong Book Fair hours before doors opened, with returning customers eyeing novels, comics and other products featuring famous animation characters.

The 35th edition of the event, which features 770 exhibitors, opened at 10am on Wednesday at the Exhibition and Convention Centre in Wan Chai, together with the Sports and Leisure Expo and World of Snacks fair.

Among the earliest visitors was Monique Wong, who arrived at the venue at about 9am. She hoped to secure an album of drawings by her favourite Hong Kong artist B.wing, in collaboration with local illustrator Steven Choi.

“I was here last year as well because B.wing also released an album. The collaboration this year is rare and long-awaited, and I’m also looking to buy some models of the characters,” the 40-year-old marketing professional said.

B.wing is best known for creating the character A-boy, a wide-eyed seven-year-old boy in a rabbit costume who is part of the artist’s recurring exploration of the theme of solitude.

Wong said she was looking to spend about HK$1,000 (US$127) at the fair, the same as last year. She added that the economic downturn might prompt her to tighten her budget in other areas of her life, but not on the things that she really liked.