As the Christmas holiday came to an end, residents gradually returned to the city on Sunday through various boundary control points, with the Immigration Department expecting around 695,000 arrivals, marking the peak day for land entries.
At the West Kowloon station, some residents chose to return early to avoid the crowds.
Lee crossed the border with her children and was worried about the long queues, so they took the direct train back to save time. “There’s only one train from Foshan today, so I had no other choice but to come back early,” she said.
Wong shared that he had spent a few thousand dollars traveling to Macau, Zhaoqing, and Zhuhai for leisure. To avoid the crowds, he decided to return earlier after enjoying a few days away.
The ImmD has urged residents and travelers to plan ahead to avoid busy periods, though some chose to leave on the final day of the holidays. By 10 am, approximately 76,000 people had entered the city.
Lee said that he planned to delay his departure to avoid the earlier rush. When asked if he had to take extra leave for his later return, he said it wasn’t a concern. “It’s not worth going out when it’s overcrowded. My train is also fully booked,” he said.
The ImmD has previously estimated that around 11.52 million people will enter or exit the city during the Christmas and New Year holidays. To manage the influx, the department has reduced frontline staff leave, flexibly allocated personnel, and opened extra counters to accommodate the high volume of arrivals.
