Han Ximin
THE weekend saw the Spring Festival holiday travel peak arrive with more than 800,000 people returning home Saturday and yesterday, the Shenzhen Spring Festival transport office said.
By 6 p.m. yesterday, around 3.7 million passengers had left for home since the start of the Spring Festival travel season Jan. 19.
Shenzhen Railway Station resumed ticket sales 10 days ahead of departure Saturday. About 129,000 passengers left the city by rail Saturday, a record.
Shenzhen airport reminded travelers to arrive two hours ahead of departure because it had stepped up security checks which will now take longer.
Police advised drivers heading north to take the Qinglian, Zhaogan and Yuegan expressways instead of the Jingzhu Expressway because it was heavily congested over the weekend. Violations such as cutting in when changing lanes had caused minor accidents and traffic jams on the freeway.
Shekou Port has added 48 ferry services between Shenzhen and Hong Kong from Jan. 29 to Feb. 5.
Shenzhen Bay Checkpoint will open counters on the second floor between Feb. 4-6 and Feb. 12 to handle the surge of travelers.
The checkpoint estimates 686,000 passengers will cross the border during the holidays, an increase of 21 percent compared with the same period last year. The Hong Kong side will add 100 buses a day to carry passengers.
