‘Everyone wants to make history’: revamped Huanggang Port opens to brisk business

Hong Kong travel agencies and border shops have capitalised on the opening of the revamped Huanggang Port as thousands of visitors poured through the control point, with special tours on offer and shopkeepers reporting brisk business.

Agents said the port’s 24-hour joint clearance arrangements could give cross-border tourism a major boost, although crowd control measures dampened trade at the checkpoint entrance.

Tour groups organised by Hong Kong travel agency Big Line Holiday were among the first visitors at the upgraded checkpoint on Monday morning.

Chan Yin-ping, the agency’s chairwoman, said about 1,000 people had joined the tours, with 20 groups scheduled between 10am and 1pm. Plans for further tours had yet to be decided, pending a smooth first few days of operation.

The agency staggered the tours across different time slots to avoid putting too much pressure on the new checkpoint.