bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Julia Hollingsworth

Star Wars figurines, rubber ducks and Thomas the Tank Engine trains may come from different fantasy worlds, but they all have one thing in common: they were once made in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Museum of History’s three-month exhibition – titled The Legend of Hong Kong Toys – will open on Thursday (March 2), featuring over 2,000 playthings from the last century, with origins that can be traced back to the city.
Hong Kong, once the biggest toy maker in the world, now manages the production of 60 to 70 per cent of toys globally, with factories based in mainland China.

The exhibition shows how the local toy industry and its products have evolved over the last 60 years, from unblinking dolls and wind-up tin dogs, to elaborate robots and action figures.
In pictures: Hong Kong toy story
“Toys are really something that people treasure because it’s a memory of the good old days,” Yeung Chi-kong, executive advisor of the Toys Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong, said. Yeung helped create the exhibition.
The earliest Hong Kong toy companies began manufacturing products after the second world war, but it wasn’t until 1972 that the city became the biggest toy exporter in the world, overtaking Japan and Europe.
After mainland China opened up, Hong Kong trading companies shifted their factories across the border. There are now about 3,000 Hong Kong toy companies with factories on the mainland.
The exhibition is the result of a two-year collaboration between the Toys Manufacturers’ Association, the Hong Kong Toys Council and the Museum of History, and it is one step closer to the ultimate goal of the industry: a permanent museum to display the city’s toys.

Many of the toys were donated by collectors, and will be returned when the event ends on May 15.
Yeung said he has been pushing the government to consider the museum idea, and he expected it to happen within the next five years, if space was available.
“We have hope that it will succeed one day,” he said. He also wanted to educate citizens and tourists about Hong Kong’s role as a “toy town” and attract more young people to the industry.
Chairman of the Hong Kong Toys Council John Tong Shing-jing said the toys held fragments of historical trends, from the designs of fighter planes after the war, to the beauty standards reflected in Barbie dolls.

Another change through the decades was the rise of electronic toys, which now make up about 10 per cent of toy sales in terms of value, Tong said.
While electronic toys are expected to become more popular, tradition never dies, and Tong said children will still play with non-electronic toys a century from now.
“Imagination goes on forever,” Toys Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong president David Chu Kei-kwan added.


Why no dinosaur fossils found earlier in Hong Kong? Few resources, old assumptions on geology

Why Hong Kong’s fire dragon dances, part of Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations, are so vital

Let Hong Kong be itself, a city where life always finds a way

Hong Kong orders archaeological review of former Japanese war memorial site amid construction, heritage preservation concerns

Living heritage of Hong Kong

Made in Hong Kong: toys exhibition at history museum tells the lost tale of an industry

Huge figures of Stormtroopers from the Star Wars films stand guard at the The Legend of Hong Kong Toys exhibition in the Museum of History. Photo: Felix Wong

Toys displayed at toys of HK "The Legend of Hong Kong" exhibition at HK Museum of History in Tsim Sha Tsui. 01MAR17 SCMP / Felix Wong

Toy of Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Coach (1953) displayed at toys of HK "The Legend of Hong Kong" exhibition at HK Museum of History in Tsim Sha Tsui. 01MAR17 SCMP / Felix Wong

News

Hong Kong

Education

Three-month display showcases tradition of city as a ‘toy town’, and aims to attract more young people into the business
