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For the first time, two major jewellery shows in Hong Kong are open to members of the public and held in a hybrid format with a physical exhibition supplemented by an online matching service. The 37th Hong Kong International Jewellery Show and the 7th Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem and Pearl Show hosted by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) opened yesterday. The physical exhibition for the twin shows held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre will run until July 29, while the online service will end on August 5. Because of COVID-19 restrictions on international travel, most of the 440 exhibitors are local companies, who have had to adjust their business strategy. Mr. Stanley Chu Kum-wing, an expert in jade from Anton Jewellery, said the shows used to be world-oriented, but had become a local exhibition this year. “We will select jewellery that is more popular with local people,” he said. “The number of exhibits has been reduced to one-third (of the original amount), and prices are very favourable. " An on-site helper of the HKTDC, who asked not to be named, said the previous jewellery exhibitions were always world-class trade shows, and there were usually many exhibitors from all over the world. However, almost all of the exhibitors this year were local companies, and the shows were being opened to the public to increase visitor numbers because there were few visitors from overseas. Singapore’s Leow Antique Watch & Jewellery is one of a few non-local exhibitors. Mr. Lik Szeto, told The Young Reporter that the company has great confidence in the Hong Kong market, where customs declaration procedures are relatively simple and tax is very low. He said Hong Kong plays a very important role to the company’s customers, who are mainly overseas Chinese from …

Neil Gaiman, of American Gods and Coraline fame, is working on his own version of the Chinese classic, Journey to the West, he told fans at this year’s Hong Kong Literary Festival. He joined Chinese history professor, Julia Lovell in a virtual presentation last week to discuss appreciation of the epic in the modern context and the character of Sun Wukong, the monkey king. Mr Gaiman has been working on his new book “Wukong and I” since 2009. He imagines himself joining the Tang monk and Wukong on a pilgrimage to collect the Budhhist scriptures. “There are many philosophies of life in Journey to the West. For example, the monkey king goes from being weird and rebellious to learning teamwork," Mr Gaiman said. "Although written 500 years ago, people are still so interested in the characters in the book, which shows its greatness," he told his audience. He first went to China in 2007. “People from all kinds of professions talked to me about Journey to the West, which gave me the initial budding of writing a book of the Monkey King,” Mr Gaiman said. Since then, he has visited China many times to collect materials and find inspiration. He travelled along the Silk Road, and recorded his experience and strange stories he picked up along the way. He met Liu Xiaolingtong, an actor who played Monkey in a popular television show in the 1980s. The actor told him that he too hoped the spirit of Monkey can be introduced to the rest of the world Prof Julia Lovell, has just produced a new translation of an abridged version of Journey to the West. Li Siyu, a Neil Gaiman fan, told The Young Reporter that she was looking forward to the new book. "I am so impressed, for example, when …