In 1951, The United Nations placed an embargo on trade against China.  Following the instruction of the United Kingdom, Hong Kong ceased to do business with Chinese Mainland.  The entreport trade of Hong Kong, which had just resumed and developed after the war, was seriously disrupted and Hong Kong had to undergo economic transformation.  Making use of the capital, labour force and industrial expertise from the Chinese Mainland, and capitalizing on the extensive market connections of their own, Hong Kong manufacturers imported a great quantity of cotton to produce semi-product and finished goods and then sold them to the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and the Southeast Asia countries, resulting in the rapid growth of the textile industry.

Along with the growth of the textile industry, the number of registered textile factories in 1960 increased to 826, employing some 62,000 persons.  During the same period, there were 689 garment factories, employing approximately 42,000 workers.  The textile and clothing industry together accounted for more than 40% of the total manufacturing workforce.  At the same time, other industries such as the footwear, hand gloves, torches and bulbs, vacuum flasks, enamelware, aluminiumware and rattanware also began to establish and develop.  According to statistics, there were 2,284 registered factories in Hong Kong in 1954, hiring 109,997 persons.  By 1959, the number of factories had increased to 4,689 and the number of workers risen to 205,726, both representing an increase of approximate 100%.

In 1960, Hong Kong's domestic exports reached HK$2,860 million, accounting for some 72% of the total exports.  This marked the transformation of Hong Kong from a trading entrepot to a manufacturing-oriented industrial city.

Durable, washable and indistinguishable from the real thing, plastic flowers made in Hong Kong sold well in many parts of the world.

In 1954, half a million people in Hong Kong walked on wooden shoes (clogs) called "Mook Kek" - a name which sounds like their click-clack rattle on the city streets. In the photograph, an artist was applying ornament to a pair of "Mook Kek".

Enamelware was once one of Hong Kong's most active industries with the widest markets.  The workers were painting designs on enamelware.

Cottage industries provided job opportunities for many people in Hong Kong.

Custom tailoring became a business developed on a large scale particularly for export.

One of the oldest light industries is the manufacture of vacuum flasks.

The workers were assembling vacuum flasks at the last stage before export.