During the Qingming Festival holiday, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area once again witnessed a travel surge. Hong Kong residents eagerly traveled north for ancestral worship, family visits, and interprovincial tours while mainland residents' trips to Hong Kong continued to heat up, creating a trend of "two-way travels". According to statistics, from April 3rd to 7th, cross-boundary high-speed rail services were expected to carry 545,000 passengers (averaging 136,000 per day), up 15% year-on-year.
Beijing-Hong Kong High-Speed Railway and Shanghai-Hong Kong High-Speed Railway Fuxing Sleeper Trains ran daily during the holiday, offering Hong Kong travelers a new option for long-distance trips. Departing from Hong Kong West Kowloon Station, these trains reach Beijing in 10 hours and 28 minutes and Shanghai in 10 hours and 55 minutes, allowing passengers to depart in the evening and arrive in the morning, with a good night's sleep. The trains cover several key cities and stations along the way, including Changsha, Hangzhou Railway Station, Xiamen, and Ningbo, further expanding the travel radius.
The "juxtaposed controls" clearance system has also greatly improved processing efficiency. Passengers need only complete both exit and entry procedures on the same floor at Hong Kong West Kowloon Station, which enables a seamless transfer to mainland high-speed rail services or an easy entry into urban areas, eliminating the cumbersome traditional process of separate inspections and especially benefiting elderly travelers.
Travel patterns among Hong Kong residents showed a mix of short trips for ancestral worship combined with longer journeys for tourism. According to the Hong Kong Immigration Department, total inbound and outbound visits at all ports were projected to reach 4.58 million between April 3rd and 6th, with land boundary crossings accounting for 3.91 million. At peak periods, passenger flows at checkpoints such as Luohu, Lok Ma Chau, and Shenzhen Bay might exceed 200,000 per day. In addition, the average daily traffic flow on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge has surpassed 19,500 vehicles, making it a popular route for self-driving trips northbound.
The high-speed rail network has become the "artery" for interprovincial tourism. For example, Mr. Chen, a Hong Kong resident, drove with his family of six via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge to Zhongshan for ancestral worship, then switched to high-speed rail to visit Guiyang and Chongqing, achieving a multi-stop journey in one trip. Another Hong Kong resident, Mr. Wu, chose to take the high-speed rail back to Maoming and Zhanjiang for family visits and tomb sweeping.
Source: Lingnan on the Cloud
粤港澳大湾区清明假期跨境出行“火热”
清明假期，粤港澳大湾区再现出行热潮，香港居民北上祭祖、探亲和跨省旅游的热情高涨，内地居民赴港游持续升温，形成“双向奔赴”的趋势。据统计，4月3日至7日跨境高铁预计运送旅客54.5万人次，日均达13.6万人次，同比增长15%。
京港、沪港复兴号智能动卧列车在假期期间每日开行，为香港旅客长途出行提供新选择。列车从香港西九龙站出发，分别10小时28分钟、10小时55分钟可直达北京和上海，实现“夕发朝至、一觉直达”。沿途覆盖长沙、杭州东、厦门、宁波等多个重点城市，进一步拓展出行半径。
“一地两检”通关模式也大大提升通关效率。旅客只需在香港西九龙站同一楼层完成出入境手续，便可无缝衔接内地高铁或轻松进入市区，省去传统“两地两检”的烦琐流程，尤其便利老年人出行。
香港居民出行呈现“短途祭祖+长线旅游”的组合趋势。据香港入境事务处预测，4月3日至6日全港口岸出入境人次将达458万，其中陆路口岸占391万，罗湖、落马洲、深圳湾等口岸高峰时段客流或超20万人次/日。港珠澳大桥日均车流量突破1.95万辆，成为自驾北上热门通道。
高铁网络则成为跨省旅游的“动脉”。香港居民陈先生一家六口，自驾经港珠澳大桥至中山祭祖后，换乘高铁赴贵阳、重庆旅游，实现“一程多站”；而香港市民吴先生则选择高铁返回茂名、湛江探亲扫墓。
文 | 记者 严锦程 通讯员 董剑锋
图 | 广铁宣
译 | 柯妃娟
英文审校 | 林佳岱
