Time marches on through rain

You can't call a halt to time because weather conditions are impossibly bad. So despite Hong Kong being struck by a once-in-a-century rainstorm on Friday the four-day Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair running from last Tuesday to Saturday ticked on at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and welcomed nearly 15,000 live buyers from 95 countries and regions.

But online exhibitions will continue to Saturday after the hybrid model was adopted for this year's fairs, providing additional opportunities for buyers to browse products and conduct business exchanges.

"As the world's leading watch and clock fair we have been delighted to see more than 700 exhibitors attend," said HKTDC deputy executive director Sophia Chong Suk-fan. "Many exhibitors received orders on the spot, and buyers who attended the fairs were very international."