Hong Kong continues on its way back to normal. Yesterday, it cleared customs with the mainland. As of 8:00 p.m., a total of more than 243,000 people entered and exited Hong Kong at various control points, and the situation is generally smooth. Among them, the Heung Yuen Wai border control point was opened to passenger traffic for the first time yesterday, and it is also the first port that can be reached on foot. Some citizens sincerely came to the site to “check in” by bicycle, and the process of entering the mainland via Heung Yuen Wai only takes about 10 minutes. The Lo Wu control point, which has been closed for three years, has also reopened. In addition to ordinary passengers, there are also cross-border students who have taken online classes for many years. Some students are excited to return to Hong Kong to take physical classes.Photo: Lee Ruizhe
The Security Bureau responded to this newspaper’s inquiries and pointed out that as of 8:00 p.m., there were more than 243,000 people entering and exiting at various control points, including about 190,000 people passing through land control points. Among them, 5,264 and 54,598 people entered and exited Heung Yuen Wai and Lo Wu respectively. After the completion of the Heung Yuen Wai border control point in 2020, due to the impact of the epidemic, the cargo inspection facilities were first opened that year, and the passenger clearance was postponed until yesterday. The first day of operation was generally smooth. The journey from Hong Kong to Shenzhen only takes about 10 minutes.
Heung Yuen Wai is the first “passenger-vehicle direct access” gateway in Hong Kong. Citizens can take the newly launched Citybus B7 (to and from Sheung Shui and Heung Yuen Wai, via Fanling) or drive there by themselves, or pass by nearby pedestrians. Walking through the tunnel to the Passenger Inspection Building, yesterday morning there were Hong Kong “cyclists” who deliberately cycled back and forth to Heung Yuen Wai twice to “check in”. Secretary for Security Tang Bingqiang described Heung Yuen Wai as a “people-oriented” gateway, which he believes can play a diversion role.
Citizens set out early in the morning to cross the border in Luohu
The Lo Wu control point, which is the most frequently used by Hong Kong people, was also reopened yesterday. After 3 years, the MTR East Rail Line once again provides train service between urban areas and Lo Wu Station. citizen. After the East Rail Line was switched to 9 trucks, it finally ushered in a comprehensive customs clearance yesterday. Legislative Council member Zhang Xinyu told this newspaper that the main source of tourists in the transit section before the epidemic included tens of thousands of citizens who lived in Shenzhen but came to work in Hong Kong. Most of them have moved back to Hong Kong. It is expected that the first few weeks of customs clearance will be fully implemented, and the East Rail Line will still be able to handle it during peak hours. However, he is worried that when this “cross-border rework mode” returns to the previous situation in the future, the train carrying capacity will be challenged. Zhang Xinyu went on to say that he hoped that the frequency of East Rail Line would increase from 2.7 minutes to 2.5 minutes. As for non-peak hours, he noticed that there were still seats for trains heading to the city when they arrived at Fanling Station.
There were also cross-border students who passed through Lo Wu on the first day and had not lived on campus for three years. Occasionally, some cross-border students were blocked when going through the formalities, but most of the rest passed the border smoothly. Fang Yiliang, chairman of the North District Secondary School Principals Association, said in a radio program that the Luohu Port is currently under construction, and that late arrivals of cross-border students will be handled as appropriate in the initial stage. Passengers at Heung Yuen Wai and Lo Wu Control Points can go directly to Sheung Shui by car, but there were not many “towers” in the area around Xin Hong Street, commonly known as “parallel goods street”.
Fill out the health declaration form online to test the elderly
Citizens going to the mainland who have not been to overseas regions or Taiwan within 7 days do not need to undergo nucleic acid testing. However, when entering the mainland, they still need to fill out the health declaration form online with their smartphones. Elders who are not familiar with filling out forms online hand over their Home Return Permits to MTR staff to declare on their behalf, and hope that the procedure can be simplified in the future. Deng Bingqiang said that he is discussing with the mainland to simplify the procedures for health declaration, hoping to make it easier for tourists to enter and exit with the fastest, most convenient and smooth way. Zhang Xinyu said that he noticed that the two places have improved in terms of assisting the declaration process. Among them, the MTR has sent additional staff at Sheung Shui, Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau stations to remind and even register on their behalf. He described the practice as very good. Not working for MTR.”
Citybus, which operates multiple routes connecting control points, said yesterday that since the first phase of customs clearance last month, the passenger volume of B3X in Shenzhen Bay and B5 at the Hong Kong Port of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge have recovered to about 11% and about 30% respectively before the epidemic. It is hoped that after the abolition of nucleic acid testing requirements, it will help stimulate the desire of mainland tourists to visit Hong Kong. It is expected that the number of passengers on transit routes during the summer vacation will return to 60% to 70% of the pre-epidemic level. Checking the information, the B3, B3A, and B3M routes of Citybus to and from Shenzhen Bay, as well as some routes passing through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, have not yet reopened. Citybus also pointed out that the Octopus of some cross-boundary students and their parents may have been blocked when boarding the bus due to long-term non-use. It has sent staff to assist them to restart the Octopus function yesterday.
It is expected that more mainland tourists will visit Hong Kong during the “May Day” holiday
In addition, Canton Travel, a Guangdong travel agency, organized two groups of about 40 tourists to Hong Kong yesterday, namely the “Hong Kong Disneyland Two-Day” and the “Hong Kong Urban Cultural Tour One-Day” groups. According to reports, mainland travel agencies continue to maintain communication with the Hong Kong Tourism Board, providing the latest information on visiting Hong Kong, and expect more mainland tourists to visit Hong Kong during the Ching Ming Festival and the “May 1st” Golden Week.
(Related news see A6)
