HK-China border opens again, but no influx of mainland travelers yet

Nancy Zha, a mainlander working in the toy industry, goes back to mainland China after spending four days in Hong Kong to attend a toy fair, at Lok Ma Chau checkpoint, Hong Kong, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Park Ji-won

By Park Ji-won

HONG KONG ― The border that divides mainland China and Hong Kong reopened on Jan. 8, following Beijing's easing of many COVID-19 restrictions, a move that now enables 60,000 people to enter each other's territory every day. Although there have been some visitors to each side during the past several days since the measure took effect, the anticipated influx of mainland Chinese people to Hong Kong is not expected soon, due to a lag in the process of China issuing individual visas to Hong Kong.

"I am so happy to be able to travel to Hong Kong," Nancy Zha, a mainlander working in the toy industry, said at Lok Ma Chau checkpoint on Wednesday after spending four days in Hong Kong since Jan. 8 to attend a toy fair.

It's been almost three years since she visited Hong Kong. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, she had visited Hong Kong every year to attend the toy fair.

"Many mainlanders are going to come to Hong Kong. I am one of them," Zha added.

The Lok Ma Chau Control Point, a station accessible by MTR, can reportedly accept the largest number of mainlanders coming to Hong Kong with a daily cap of 35,000. Since Jan. 8, seven border checkpoints, including land crossings at Lok Ma Chau and Man Kam To, as well as sea ports at the Macau Ferry Terminal and China Ferry Terminal, were opened.

Outbound travelers from Hong Kong head to Lok Ma Chau Control Point from the MTR station, Hong Kong, Wednesday. Futian Checkpoint is the name of the Chinese side of the checkpoint. Korea Times photo by Park Ji-won

There were not many people at Lok Ma Chau Control Point, however, compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic. It was packed with people every day back then. For example, inbound travelers numbered 162,240 and outbound travelers numbered 339,143 on Jan. 24, 2020, according to data from the Immigration Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.

There were staff here and there at the checkpoint, holding signs in Chinese and English that read that travelers are required to have "a document valid for travel to the Mainland/a negative nucleic acid test result taken within 48 hours of travel/a booking for the boundary control point (Hong Kong residents and foreign visitors to Hong Kong only)." Some groups of people with luggage could be seen passing through the gate.

Although the border was technically open, it seemed that inbound and outbound travelers were limited to those who already had visas for business or permits to visit their relatives, due to delays in the issuance of necessary permits.

"(Even though the issuance of visas started on Jan. 8,) the process takes a number of working days and it will take some time to actually get a visa to come to Hong Kong," a person who is familiar with the matter said.

The South China Morning Post reported that the mainland Chinese government had yet to "notify travel agencies about resuming tours or offering hotel and flight packages to the city."

The statistics also show that the mainlanders do not account for a significant portion of the inbound and outbound travelers, while Hongkongers account for most of them.

The number of inbound travelers to Hong Kong stood at 46,098 on Jan. 8, while the number of outbound travelers was 62,409, according to the immigration department. Inbound mainlanders only accounted for 10 percent, or 5,046, while Hong Kong residents accounted for most of the figure on the same day. Similar conditions have continued over the last few days. For example, mainlanders accounted for only 6,226 out of 44,486 inbound travelers on Jan. 11, or only 13 percent.

Chau Kwok-hung, a 25-year-old Hongkonger who travelled to Guangdong Province through Lok Ma Chau Control Point, shows the PCR test result that she had to submit to the mainland Chinese government, Hong Kong, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Park Ji-won

Chau Kwok-hung, a 25-year-old Hongkonger who travelled to Guangdong Province through Lok Ma Chau Control Point, is one of the people who already has a permit to travel and would not have visited the mainland if she did not have a family business there, due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19 infections and the procedures required to visit. She visited the province from Jan. 10 to 11.

"(Although the number of infections has surged) people just don't care. They don't wear masks on the streets (in Guangdong Province) as if the pandemic was over," she said.

Taking a mandatory PCR test in order to go to the mainland is another bothersome procedure for Hongkongers who want to travel easily, she added.

A person who is familiar with the matter said, "Some expect that mainlanders may want to visit Hong Kong during the Chinese New Year holidays, but that is not true. They will first visit their families in China and come to Hong Kong later."

"Hong Kong has been a tourist destination for mainlanders, especially for those who live in Guangdong Province, to shop in Hong Kong. But due to the ongoing pandemic and shutdown of the country, other cities in the world have filled that gap in this city," the person said, adding, "Rich Chinese people just directly go to Europe to buy luxury goods."