The Hong Kong Book Fair opens today, with organisers hoping the focus will be on the exhibitors and not on pouting pseudo-models.
The week-long fair at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre features 526 exhibitors, a three per cent increase from last year.
But the presence of the pseudo-models , or lang mo as they are known in Cantonese, is set to shrink.
It was feared the models could tarnish the image of the fair after they turned up uninvited last year.
The Trade Development Council received 13 applications from the models to hold autograph signing sessions last year and all of them were turned down. But the models arrived anyway, announcing their appearances to the media.
This year, five applications were received and two have been approved, with the models saying they will maintain a lower profile.