Easter travel rush peaks as returning crowds to HK swell
發佈日期: 2026-04-07 20:04
TVB News
The Easter-Ching-Ming-Festival holiday period is coming to an end.
The Immigration Department is expecting around 671,000 inbound travellers today as holidaymakers return to the city.
As of 4 p.m., some 337,000 travellers entered the city. Among them, 278,000 are Hong Kong residents.
The five-day public holiday period, stretching through the Easter break and Ching Ming Festival, is winding down.
After travelling north for their Easter break or ancestral visits during the Ching Ming Festival, the homebound travel rush picked up at around midday, with crowds surging at multiple cross-border checkpoints.
Bustling sights at the West Kowloon high-speed rail station since this morning, though queues appeared lighter than yesterday.
To cope with demand, 13 additional pairs of trains have been arranged between West Kowloon Station in Hong Kong and Shenzhen's Futian Station.
However, tickets from other mainland stations are much harder to secure -- including those returning from Guangzhou to Hong Kong.
German Tourist Returning from Guangzhou FABIAN: "The sale of tickets was fully booked out and it was really hard to get tickets. Also, the queues to the trains were really long."
HK Resident ELISE: "It was kind of crowded just now and I took the subway from China. I was rushing for the opening of the school."
The Immigration Department said it has stepped up manpower and opened up additional counters to ease passenger flows. It is also urging travellers to plan ahead and avoid crossing the border during peak hours if possible.
Meanwhile, some tourists from Shenzhen and Shanghai timed their Hong Kong trip after the mainland's Ching Ming Festival.
Tourist from Shanghai EVA: "We have a holiday called Chun Jia (spring break), so I have time and I don't want to waste this holiday. So I choose to come to Hong Kong and travel for a few days. (Why did you try to postpone it a little bit later?) If it's near too many people, it's very hot in Hong Kong usually, so I don't want to crowd with others."
Shenzhen Resident from Germany EDO: "We pay 40 dollars (for tickets) for 5 persons. It's good, it's good. It's not expensive. And for me, Hong Kong is the best town in the whole world."
At another busy entry point -- the Hong Kong port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, conditions improved this morning after long vehicle queues and crowds overnight.
Some travellers say waiting times for shuttle buses and border clearance took around 5 minutes.
At the Zhuhai port of the bridge, the official website shows vehicle traffic has been heavy since 3 p.m.
Drivers have to wait at least 40 minutes for security and clearance.
