Photos | Smooth boundary crossings at Lo Wu after New Year fireworks, crowds seen at bus stations
The New Year's Eve fireworks lit up the sky in the early hours of Jan. 1, drawing large crowds of tourists and locals. Following the spectacle, many people returned to the mainland via cross-boundary buses and train services. The reporter from DotDotNews conducted a real-time test of the boundary crossing process at Lo Wu and found it to be smooth, with an average crossing time of around 20 minutes. However, some crowding was observed at the cross-boundary bus station in Prince Edward.
At Lo Wu, the last East Rail Line train bound for the boundary arrived at 1:48 a.m., just 12 minutes before the Lo Wu checkpoint closed. Many travelers were seen rushing toward the checkpoint. On-site, several Hong Kong police officers maintained order, repeatedly calming the crowd by saying, "No need to run, you'll make it in time," while MTR staff reminded passengers to prepare their QR codes in advance.
All MTR exit gates at Lo Wu Station were operational, most of which accepted QR codes for faster processing. Approximately two-thirds of the checkpoint counters at Lo Wu were open, and the crossing process took around 20 minutes, with orderly queues and smooth traffic flow throughout.
At the cross-boundary bus station in Jordan, buses heading to Shenzhen Bay Port experienced a "bus-waiting-for-passengers" situation, allowing passengers to board almost immediately without queues. However, routes to other boundary crossings, including Huanggang Port, saw higher passenger volumes. By 1:40 a.m., the Prince Edward cross-boundary bus terminal began to see longer queues, as many travelers arrived to purchase last-minute tickets.
A mainland tourist praised the overall traffic and crowd management. Another traveler commended the fireworks display and the well-organized crowds, noting that cross-boundary transportation has become very convenient and expressing plans to visit HK more frequently.
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