Nearly 600,000 Hongkongers cross border on day 1 of Chung Yeung Festival break

Nearly 600,000 Hongkongers left the city on the first day of the three-day Chung Yeung Festival break, an almost 30 per cent increase from the start of the long weekend last year.

Immigration statistics showed that 598,677 residents left Hong Kong on Friday, up by 28 per cent from 466,851 recorded on the first day of a three-day break last year.

Data also showed that 56,378 mainland Chinese visitors entered Hong Kong on Friday, down by 47 per cent from 107,133 logged on the first day of the long weekend last year.

Among Hongkongers who left the city on Friday, most used the Lo Wu checkpoint, followed by the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line, Shenzhen Bay and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge information platform announced on Saturday that an “extreme peak” of travellers and cars was expected at the Zhuhai port of the bridge on Sunday – the last day of the long weekend.

It said peak travelling times were expected to start from 2pm an Sunday and run till 1am on Monday, calling on passengers and drivers to avoid those hours.

The Chung Yeung Festival is a public holiday in Hong Kong when locals traditionally pay their respects to dead relatives by visiting the graves or niches.