Thousands stuck for hours at Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge on Christmas Day

Tens of thousands of Hongkongers were stuck for hours at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge on Christmas Day, as residents streamed out of the city’s border checkpoints for the holiday.\nPolice and rail giant the MTR Corporation also warned on Thursday morning that Shenzhen Bay, Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau spur line control points were crowded and that travellers should expect a longer time to cross the border.\nThe wave of outbound travel started on Christmas Eve on Wednesday, when the net outflow of people from the city through all checkpoints jumped almost 44 per cent to 298,085 compared with the same day last year, according to official statistics.\nThis year’s Christmas Day falls on Thursday and Boxing Day on Friday, forming a four-day long weekend.\nA Post reporter at the Hong Kong port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge observed at around lunchtime that the departure hall was packed with tens of thousands of tourists and visitors, who waited at least 1½ hours in lines just to get on the border-crossing Gold Bus.\nAt the mainland China side of Luohu, crowds packed the entire open space off the shopping centre connected to the checkpoint.\nMany revellers were seen putting on the signature red and white Christmas hats.\nAt the West Kowloon terminus of the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, travellers – many with children – filled the concourse.\nMany were travelling to destinations besides Shenzhen, such as Foshan, Zhanjiang and Jiangxi.\nA Hong Kong resident in his thirties, surnamed Hon, was travelling with his wife, son and daughter, and all of them were in a celebratory mood and putting on Christmas hats.\n“Spending for the whole family is more economical in Shenzhen, we plan to spend less than HK$10,000 [US$1,286] for several days,” Hon said.\nAnother traveller, called Ms Tam, was heading to Zhanjiang with several friends and budgeted about 3,000 to 4,000 yuan (HK$3,300 to HK$4,400) per person for a four-day holiday.\n“It is because spending there is value for money,” she said.\nOn Christmas Eve, the government said it had coordinated with various local and cross-border transport operators to boost their services during the long-weekend to accommodate the public’s travelling needs.\nThese included shuttle buses on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, cross-border coaches and the MTR.\n