Overlapping holidays see travel surge between Shenzhen, Hong Kong

The overlapping Qingming Festival and public holiday in China’s Hong Kong from April 3 to 7 brought a surge in cross-border traveling between the special administrative region and neighboring Shenzhen City in the southern Guangdong Province on the mainland.

Data released by Shenzhen’s rail authorities showed that from April 3 to 7, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link saw 642,000 cross-border passenger trips, up 22.5 percent year on year. And on April 3, 86,000 mainland-bound passenger trips were made from Hong Kong via the rail link, a new single-day record.

During the five-day holiday period, Shenzhen government rolled out a wide range of cultural programs for tourists, including a Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area flower show and special performances such as stand-up comedies and classical music concerts.

Hong Kong tourists enjoyed seamlessly connected experiences — they can watch the performances right after border inspections, then begin shopping in Shenzhen’s commercial areas soon after the shows, thanks to the “one-hour living circle” of the Greater Bay Area facilitated by convenient transportation, customs clearances and cross-border payments.

Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party, on Thursday warned against “needless contradictions and ambiguities” that could hinder Taiwan’s progress, as she continued her visit to the mainland.

Cheng made the remarks when touring the sprawling, fully automated Yangshan Port in Shanghai, where she witnessed firsthand the achievements of the Chinese mainland’s high-tech and industrial development.

She commended the mainland’s industrial and technological advances as well as its low-carbon transformation.

“The service industry and traditional manufacturing sector of Taiwan are facing very serious bottlenecks. Opportunities for future development can be seen in how they transform, upgrade, and integrate with AI. Cross-strait reconciliation, dialogue, exchange, and cooperation can make the most beautiful flowers bloom even in the most unlikely places. Therefore, everyone’s imagination, creativity, expertise, and enthusiasm are limitless. We shouldn’t let needless contradictions and ambiguities limit the steps we could take and the development we could achieve,” Cheng said.

Leading a KMT delegation, Cheng embarked her six-day visit to the mainland on Tuesday, marking the first time in a decade that a KMT chairperson has led a delegation to the mainland.

Shanghai was the second leg of Cheng’s trip, after she and her delegation traveled to Nanjing, the provincial capital of Jiangsu in the east.

On delegation, the delegation visited the Shanghai headquarters of the food delivery giant Meituan, where they experienced drone-based delivery services that offered a glimpse into the mainland’s rapidly developing smart economy.

On Thursday morning, Cheng and her delegation also toured the Shanghai Aircraft Design and Research Institute under the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd., manufacturer of domestically-developed aircraft including the C919 passenger jet.

The delegation departed Shanghai for Beijing on Thursday afternoon.