Record-breaking crowds throng West Kowloon Station as five-day holiday begins

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The Easter and Ching Ming Festival long weekend kicked off on Friday with massive crowds as authorities anticipate over six million people moving through Hong Kong’s borders over the next five days.

The Immigration Department expects approximately 6.44 million passenger trips via sea, land, and air checkpoints during the holiday period running from April 3 to 7.

Today marks the peak for land departures, with an estimated 712,000 people heading out of the city.

By early morning, the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station was already overwhelmed by travelers, with visual reports from social media and travel experts showing a sea of people packed into the concourse as early as 6am.

Many commuters described the congestion as overwhelming, with some estimating a one-hour wait just to clear immigration.

Timothy Chui Ting-pong, executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Association, noted during a radio program that bookings for mainland Chinese tour groups have surged by 30 percent compared to the same period last year.

This spike in organized travel was evident at the station, where large groups gathered alongside independent travelers heading north for vacations or traditional tomb-sweeping rituals.

The surge in demand has already exhausted ticket supplies, with electronic displays showing that short-haul trains to destinations such as Guangzhou, Fujian, and Hunan are completely sold out for the day.

The congestion extended beyond the ticket halls and security checkpoints.

Long queues were reported at station restrooms, with dozens of people waiting at any given time, while traffic outside the terminal remained heavily gridlocked.

In response to the crush of travelers, the Immigration Department has urged the public to plan their journeys carefully, avoid peak hours whenever possible, and stay tuned to live traffic updates to navigate the holiday rush safely.