Christmas celebrations started yesterday with Hongkongers choosing to go out or leave the city, as many residents passed through immigration checkpoints and MTR trains had the highest number of passengers using the service during the winter solstice. More than 764,000 people had entered and exited Hong Kong yesterday, with more than 230,000 leaving through Lo Wu alone, Immigration Department figures show. The department estimated earlier that 7.67 million would pass through its checkpoints during the Christmas and New Year period. Yesterday, more than 59,000 people took flights out of Hong Kong and 48,000 arrived. During the winter solstice on Friday, MTR Corp recorded 2.94 million passengers using its trains in its regular 19-hour service day. It broke the record it set on December 15 when the number of passengers hit 2.85 million. About 35,000 Christians celebrated the birth of Jesus at Hong Kong Stadium in Happy Valley last night by praying in a live television link-up with more than 2 million faithful around the world at the same time. Shoppers in Sha Tin were amazed by four Australian entertainers who performed Christmas carols, with three of them becoming flying Santas as they played their instruments in New Town Plaza. World Carnival, the outdoor temporary amusement park at the Tamar site, was also packed yesterday, with pre-sale tickets for today to New Year's Eve and New Year's Day sold out. About 26,000 tickets are available each day with 10,000 reserved as floor tickets. Also, 400,000 people are expected to flock to the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront tonight. Many will be able to catch the enhanced version of the laser show 'Symphony of Lights' that will light up Victoria Harbour during this festive season with fireworks at 8pm. Most roads leading to the waterfront will be closed in stages beginning at 5pm today and the public is advised to take public transport and follow police directions. Among them, 200,000 are expected to be at Canton Road, where a large-scale Christmas party is to be held there with fireworks and legendary Canto-pop band The Wynners counting down to midnight.
