Hong Kong gears up for expected influx of arrivals ahead of new year
By Ng Kang-chung
Hong Kong checkpoints had logged nearly 260,000 arrivals by Sunday afternoon as border officers geared up for an anticipated peak influx of holidaymakers coming to celebrate the new year.
The Immigration Department had projected that the number of arrivals using land control points during the Christmas and New Year holiday period would peak on Sunday, with an estimated 626,000 entries.
As of 4pm on Sunday, immigration officers at all 13 control points had dealt with 553,293 people, comprising 259,584 arrivals and 293,709 departures, according to provisional data from the department.
The busiest crossings were the two rail-based border control points – Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau spur line. Up to 4pm, the former had recorded 95,372 people, while the latter cleared 89,085 arriving and departing passengers.
The third-busiest control point was the land-based Shenzhen Bay crossing. It handled 67,469 people arriving and departing.
Among the arrivals, 81,195, or more than 31 per cent, were from mainland China. They mostly entered via the Lok Ma Chau spur line checkpoint and express rail link in West Kowloon. The two crossings respectively handled 18,092 and 19,185 incoming mainlanders up to 4pm.
Hong Kong will ring in 2025 with a fireworks display at Victoria Harbour on New Year’s Eve and a series of countdown and celebratory activities.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Ng Kang-chung
Hong Kong checkpoints had logged nearly 260,000 arrivals by Sunday afternoon as border officers geared up for an anticipated peak influx of holidaymakers coming to celebrate the new year.
The Immigration Department had projected that the number of arrivals using land control points during the Christmas and New Year holiday period would peak on Sunday, with an estimated 626,000 entries.
As of 4pm on Sunday, immigration officers at all 13 control points had dealt with 553,293 people, comprising 259,584 arrivals and 293,709 departures, according to provisional data from the department.
The busiest crossings were the two rail-based border control points – Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau spur line. Up to 4pm, the former had recorded 95,372 people, while the latter cleared 89,085 arriving and departing passengers.
The third-busiest control point was the land-based Shenzhen Bay crossing. It handled 67,469 people arriving and departing.
Among the arrivals, 81,195, or more than 31 per cent, were from mainland China. They mostly entered via the Lok Ma Chau spur line checkpoint and express rail link in West Kowloon. The two crossings respectively handled 18,092 and 19,185 incoming mainlanders up to 4pm.
Hong Kong will ring in 2025 with a fireworks display at Victoria Harbour on New Year’s Eve and a series of countdown and celebratory activities.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
