Society

HK-bound tours boom in Chinese Lunar New Year

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-02-05 09:52

SHENZHEN -- All ports in Shenzhen, a South China city neighboring Hong Kong, reported a peak as mainland holidaymakers flocked to Hong Kong on Friday, the second day of the Chinese Lunar New Year.

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More than 180,000 people from China's mainland crossed the ports in Shenzhen for shopping and sightseeing in Hong Kong as of 6 pm on Friday, according to a report released by the Shengzhen border control department.

Travelers from Heilongjiang, Henan, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Hunan and other provinces joined about 5,000 tourist groups to cross the border.

In the week-long New Year holiday, residents from Hong Kong and Macao also rush to the mainland to visit relatives and friends.

By 6 pm on Friday, about 220,000 people passed through the ports in Shenzhen to enter the mainland.

Saturday will see an even bigger flow of two-way travelers at the ports in Shenzhen, according to the city's border control department.