Thousands of Hongkongers Face Unprecedented Crowds at Land Checkpoints After Long Weekend

Thousands of Hongkongers were stuck for hours at multiple land checkpoints in what one traveller called “unprecedented” large crowds on Monday night, as more than 673,000 residents returned to the city from mainland China after the long weekend. Some were also reportedly turned away from the Shenzhen Bay border before it closed that night. Among the 740,000 residents entering the city on Monday, about 90 per cent returned via land control points. According to statistics released by the Immigration Department on Tuesday, the Lo Wu border saw over 165,000 Hongkongers entering the city the day before. Official figures showed that the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line recorded 129,000 residents entering the city, while the Shenzhen Bay checkpoint saw 124,000 local arrivals. Residents returning to Hong Kong after the Buddha’s Birthday long weekend found themselves caught up in huge crowds at the border, with some waiting for more than three hours to clear immigration.