At the Lowu and Futian Public Security Bureau offices in Shenzhen, there were never more than 40 people waiting in line while in Zhuhai and Guangdong the queue was even shorter.

'My mum told me to get to the offices as early as possible but I didn't get to the offices until 10am. Even so, it doesn't look like I have to wait long - probably less than an hour,' said university student Xiao Liheng.

Mainland authorities said 5,418 valid individual permit applications had been received yesterday - 3,000 from Guangzhou, 1,542 from Shenzhen, 648 from Zhuhai, 108 from Huizhou and 120 lodged directly with the Public Security Bureau's provincial office.

Since July 28 - when the regulations were first relaxed - 108,802 permits for individual travellers to visit Hong Kong and Macau have been issued in Dongguan, Foshan, Jiangmen and Zhongshan. During the same period a total of 20,984 mainlanders have visited Hong Kong.

Director of the Guangzhou exit-entry administrative office of the Public Security Bureau, Liu Weijiang, explained that there were no big crowds because people realised there was no rush.

'People are behaving normally and are quite stable because they don't have to worry about getting on board for the last train. This is a long-term policy,' he said. The number of permits issued is limited only by the amount which can be processed on a given day.

The only chaotic incident yesterday occurred when a bank in Zhuhai was unable to issue permit applicants with receipts. Tourists must pay the application fee at the bank and bring the receipt in when they hand in their applications.

Exit-entry administration staff quickly rushed to the scene. Yelling at bank staff, one officer said: 'Tell your management to get out here. Don't you realise this is a big thing for the central government?' The issue was settled a short time later.

Special treatment was also given to the first batch of individual permit travellers from Guangzhou - eight individuals who had handed in their applications earlier - to ensure they arrived in Hong Kong safely and quickly.

One woman, a Ms Ho, her father and daughter said mainland officials arranged a ride for them from Guangzhou to Shenzhen in the morning. The three of them got through customs at Lowu within five minutes due to special treatment - which included being led through a special passageway.

'When they called me [on Tuesday night] to tell me that my family was going to be the first batch of people to come to Hong Kong on individual permits - I was shocked because it was so fast,' she said. 'I didn't have time to do anything so I just packed a few clothes. I didn't even book a hotel. It was very rushed,' she said.

In Hong Kong, however, people worried an influx in mainland tourists would create a surge in crime.

A survey issued yesterday by the Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood showed 73.4 per cent of the 421 people interviewed felt Hong Kong's safety would fall as mainland arrivals increased.

Security chief Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong said law enforcement officials would monitor the crime situation - especially money laundering - carefully.