Record 152,000 crossings at new Huanggang Port

The new Huanggang Port sees a rush of inbound travellers

as citizens return to the city after the three-day Chung Yeung

Festival long weekend.

The Immigration Department recorded 152,000 border crossings

yesterday, marking a record high since its opening.

And between 2pm and 4pm today,

9,401 travelers returned to Hong Kong via Huanggang Port,

showing an increase of more than three and a half times

compared to the same period in the past.

One week after the new Huanggang Port opened,

it experienced its first peak on Sunday.

Travellers had to wait for more than an hour to depart.

A day later, morning outbound traffic at the new port was smooth.

Nearly all 60 automated channels were operating.

One traveller, Mrs. Mak,

said it only took her a few minutes to clear customs.

Today marked the final day of the three-day

Chung Yeung Festival long weekend.

Anticipating an inbound peak from the afternoon into the evening,

many Hongkongers returned around noon.

Other travellers said they headed back two to three hours earlier

than originally planned to avoid traffic

and a repeat of yesterday's massive queues,

as they needed to work.

The Immigration Department recorded more than 152,000 crossings

at the new port yesterday.

That reached three-quarters of its

initial design capacity of 200,000 people.

Former Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok explained the congestion

was caused by a holiday crowd eager to try the new facility.

He added the sheer volume of people created a bottleneck,

despite the shorter processing times.

Yesterday, both automated channels and manual counters were backed up.

One reason could be the lack of a diversion system at Huanggang,

as foreign travellers require more

processing time than Hong Kong residents.

Lai suggested separating Hong Kong residents

from foreign visitors to reduce wait times.

He noted counter allocations could

remain flexible depending on the crowd.

He also reminded citizens using automated channels

to register in advance on the e-Channel application and the Chinese mainland system.