With the recent negative publicity surrounding food and products coming out of China, the organizers and participants in this week's Splendor of China Cultural Festival and Tradeshow are hoping the show will improve the image of Chinese merchandise.

The event will run Friday and Saturday in the Blaisdell Center's Exhibition Hall and feature nearly 100 vendors. The Splendor of China will offer food, clothing, crafts, jewelry and other merchandise booths, as well as performances by the Sichuan Provincial Chinese Folk Art Performance Group of China and a "1,000-year-old-egg"-eating contest.

This is the fifth year that the Chinese Chamber of Commerce is hosting the event, which also kicks off the 59th Narcissus Festival. But the trade show takes on added importance this year because of the controversy surrounding recalls of food and merchandise from China.

Ed Pei, chamber president, said he believes the negative publicity is unwarranted and that a vast majority of goods made in China are of high quality. Pei said he hasn't heard of any businesses here that have suffered because of the product recalls, but is aware that some have been affected.

"Needless to say, there has been a little bit of negative publicity," Pei said. "This event will hopefully showcase the many things that China really does have to offer. Anything that you buy today, whether it's high-end consumer electronics or textiles, it would be a surprise to me if a component of that isn't made in China."

One Chinatown merchant who's hoping the Splendor of China event will help boost sales is Xin Xin Fashions on Maunakea Street. Manager Jian Hua Wen said she's seen a drop in sales of about 50 percent over the past few months and blames the bad publicity.

"Not too much people come to Chinatown," Wen said. "Last year and every year were good, but this year I don't know. I hope that it gets better. We try to work hard and try to make more money, but now it's very slow for everybody."

Xin Xin Fashions has been in business for 20 years and has taken part in each of the festivals, which began as Taste of China.

Around the corner at Eastern Food Center on North King Street, it's been pretty much business as usual. Emily Chan, whose parents, Janet and Stephen, own the restaurant, said sales have remained steady during the food and product scares.

"A lot of our customers are local," Chan said. "They're more family oriented."

Chan acknowledged, however, that she also has seen a decline in visitors to Chinatown. This hurts the nonfood merchants because they depend a lot on walk-in customers, she said.

Eastern Food Center will participate in its second Splendor of China show. Chan said such events are crucial to attracting business to the Chinatown area.

"It got people to know us a little bit more," Chan said. "We got a lot of new customers who asked, 'Where's your restaurant?' or 'Your food is really good, where can I purchase it?' "

Wen said foot traffic typically increases by 30 percent immediately after the cultural and trade show. She estimated that about 75 percent of the people who walk into the shop buy something, while the others just window shop.

Pei said events such as the festival also get business owners out of their comfort zone and into a new setting to promote themselves.

"This is a good opportunity for the merchants in Chinatown to extend their reach to those who don't go to Chinatown with any regularity," Pei said. "Unfortunately, it's not always easy for visitors to get to Chinatown. Maybe the Chinese community or the Chinatown community is not doing a good enough job of promoting Chinatown, colorful Chinatown, to our visitors."

Pei said he expects between 10,000 and 15,000 to attend this weekend's festival.

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.