More than 180,000 people flooded back over the border yesterday after the three-day holiday, as millions of mainlanders took to the roads for a week-long break.
The Lowu checkpoint had processed 180,697 people by midnight after the Immigration Department extended opening hours. Most people were cleared within 15 minutes.
The department said it would open more counters to deal with any rush after an estimated 20,000 had to line up before gates shut at 11.30pm at the end of the Easter weekend. That rush sparked calls for Lowu to be open 24 hours on extended weekend holidays. The Government estimated about 155 tour groups arrived from the mainland yesterday.
On the mainland, long queues were seen at airports and railway stations as traffic blocked many cities.
The Civil Aviation Administration laid on 1,373 more flights to holiday destinations - but seats were still sold out. Beijing Youth Daily said 1.78 million of the capital's residents - 15 per cent - planned to leave on holiday this week.
In Shanghai, the Municipal Railways Bureau estimated six million people would take trains in the two weeks to the end of the holiday on Sunday.
