Dragon Boat Festival: Hong Kong set for 3.2 million cross-border trips
Nine-day carnival kicks off at Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront on Saturday, coinciding with launch of Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage Month
About 3.2 million trips are expected to be made across Hong Kong’s borders during the Tuen Ng Festival long weekend, with a peak of about 540,000 arrivals at land crossings on Sunday.
The Immigration Department said on Thursday that most of the cross-border traffic would pass through land checkpoints from neighbouring Macau and Shenzhen, accounting for 85 per cent, or 2.73 million, of the trips.
Hong Kong will be hosting citywide dragon boat races over the weekend, with authorities anticipating a peak of 570,000 outbound trips on Saturday and 540,000 inbound ones on Sunday.
The department said the Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau Spur Line and Shenzhen Bay control points were set to be busy, forecasting daily averages of about 230,000, 200,000 and 140,000 trips, respectively.
The holiday, also known as Dragon Boat Festival, runs from Saturday to Monday on the mainland this year.
“To avoid congestion and longer-than-usual waiting times for immigration clearance, the Immigration Department advises all land boundary passengers to plan in advance, avoid making their journeys during busy periods, and keep track of radio and TV broadcasts on traffic conditions at various control points,” a department spokesman said.