China saw a boom during last week’s Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day, recording 119 million domestic passenger trips during the three-day holiday, up 11.5 percent from the same period in 2019, marked by bustling tourist attractions and surging consumption. Official data also showed domestic revenue during the period totaled 53.95 billion yuan (US$7.6 billion), up 12.7 percent from the same period in 2019. 

But the hustle and bustle actually started a few days earlier, especially between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, which have witnessed record trips of Hongkongers to “go north” as they opted for shopping and entertainment on the mainland after the city emerged from the prolonged pandemic.

Between the SAR's 4-day Easter holidays, around 2.07 million inbound and 2.19 million outbound travelers passed through Hong Kong's land, sea and air border control points — 40 percent more than during the same holiday last year. Among those who left the city for vacations, over 80 percent headed for the Chinese mainland.

The main pull for them is cheaper goods and services, as well as a wider array of dining options. Convenient transportation options make these getaways easy.

Hong Kong tour agencies said that they had noticed a surge in the popularity of mainland destinations. EGL Tours said the number of residents who joined the company’s cross-border tours tripled compared with last Easter. The most sought-after mainland destinations included bay area cities such as Foshan, Dongguan and Huizhou, while Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan, Beijing and Shanghai, among others, had also gained in popularity. 

As delightfully showcased on their social media accounts, Hong Kong residents have discovered that bubble tea in mainland offer greater diversity, the service is notably more courteous, and the restaurant cuisines reflect a more authentic representation of their origins.

Meanwhile, the Zhuhai port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB), the world's longest bridge-and-tunnel sea crossing, also saw over 19,000 inbound and outbound vehicles last Monday, marking a record high since its opening, according to the border inspection station of the bridge. 

During the 10-day holiday period from March 28 to April 6, cross-border vehicles using the bridge hit 170,000, with over a million passengers, 145 percent and 168 percent higher than that of 2023, respectively, marking historic highs. Inbound visitors from Hong Kong and Macao SARs accounted for 68 percent, a 25 percent surge from last year. Zhuhai port expects another new record of tourists influx in the coming Labor Day holiday, which will span from May 1 to 5.

One-day tour has become more and more common among residents in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), as the "one-hour living circle" has been realized. One of the facilitation measures is the Quota-free Scheme for Hong Kong Private Cars Traveling to Guangdong via the bridge, effective from July 1, 2023, under which private cars will be exempted from paying custom duties. The northbound travel program has been made available half a year earlier for Macao residents. 

China unveiled the outline development plan for the GBA in February 2019, vowing to build the GBA into a vibrant world-class city cluster, a globally influential international innovation and technology hub, and a quality living circle for living, work and travel.

Over the past few years, the central government has adopted a series of concrete measures to make it more convenient for residents from Hong Kong and Macao to study, work or live in the Chinese mainland.

What’s the allure to “go north”?

Since the Chinese mainland reopened its borders in January last year, more Hong Kong residents are spending their holidays or weekends in neighboring mainland cities like Shenzhen. 

Tired of high costs, poor service and limited choices at home, Hongkongers are going to Shenzhen to buy groceries, go out for meals and discover new bubble tea shops. All it takes is a short bus or subway trip across the border to the mainland.

On social media and in chat groups, hundreds of thousands of Hongkongers talk about new food offerings in Shenzhen, and share tips about where to find popular dinning places and hottest tourists spots. Tour operators that once focused on package tours to Japan and Thailand are now organizing buses to shopping centers and stores including Sam’s Club and Costco in Shenzhen. 

The neighboring city of Hong Kong has become increasingly popular among Hong Kong residents as they seek a wider range of recreational activities and more budget-friendly leisure options. 

“Many Hongkongers are heading to the mainland to ‘play,’” wrote  an user on Xiaohongshu, a lifestyle-oriented social media platform in China. “Compared with Hong Kong, prices in the mainland are cheaper, and the food is delicious … It’s been difficult to buy high-speed rail tickets less than a week in advance.”

"One's spending in Hong Kong could easily cover an entire family's expenses in Shenzhen," exclaimed another social media post. “In the SAR, a proper dinner typically sets one back about HK$1,000, but in Shenzhen, the same amount can fetch a rejuvenating massage, an equally satisfying dinner, multiple servings of refreshing lemon tea, and perhaps even a comfortable hotel room,” it wrote.

Shenzhen, ranked third in GDP among mainland cities, has never been synonymous with affordability for mainlanders. However, Hong Kong remains among the world's most expensive cities to live in. When considering the significantly higher cost of living in densely populated Hong Kong, Shenzhen emerges as a remarkably cost-effective destination for consumption. 

Shenzhen is also actively courting such spenders. It has opened more shopping centers since 2020, including MiX C in Lo Wu, Zhongzhou Wan in Futian and Houhai Harbour in Nanshan, integrating technology, art, youth culture, cuisine and other concepts.

The city is also offering online consumption vouchers along with kiosks to make currency exchanges a snap, QR codes on display help users download mobile payment applications, with free Wi-fi too. It has also become much