Many people from Hong Kong tried out the new Huanggang port on Saturday as they headed for the mainland at the start of the long Chung Yeung Festival weekend. They had nothing but praise for the new facility. One of them, a Mr So, said he was crossing over to the mainland on a day trip. “I used to opt for the checkpoint at Lok Ma Chau. But I think this port seemed quite beautiful,” he said. “In the future, I would probably choose this port as it is bigger.” A woman, Chan, said she was headed north with friends for leisure. “We came from Yuen Long Plaza. The journey took 20 to 25 minutes. It’s very convenient,” she said. “As this port is new, so far it’s not too crowded and it’s very smooth.” Another traveller, Cheung, said she only had to take a bus to the checkpoint instead of having to interchange from a bus to the train to make it to the other crossings. The new facility, she calculated, resulted in savings in terms of time as well as travel costs of more than HK$20 per journey. A man, Fan, said he often goes to the mainland during his free time. “I have tried other crossings, so this was my first time using this port. This one is more convenient from where I live compared to the others.” Commissioner of Customs and Excise Chan Tsz-tat carried out an inspection of operations in the morning at the crossing, where ambassadors were stationed to assist travellers. Edited by Tony Sabine

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law said she was confident Hong Kong would meet its target of 53.8 million visitor arrivals this year, thanks to a packed schedule of mega events, trade conventions and international conferences. Speaking on a Commercial Radio programme on Saturday, she said “nine months have already passed and we have seen 40.7 million visitor arrivals and compared to last year, there has been a steady double-digit increase". “There is a good reason for believing we can reach 53.8 million visitor arrivals by the end of the year because many more people visited the city during the Golden Week in October and we have so many good activities and mega events coming up.” The city has had to cope with the challenge of rising fuel prices this year, which have reduced short-haul visitors – notably those from Southeast Asia – but arrivals from the mainland and long-haul markets remain healthy, Law pointed out. Regarding the opening of Huanggang port on Monday, she said the crossing provided tourists with an additional travel option. She said officials would be monitoring to see which crossings travellers used during upcoming large concert events to guide future planning. On the National Day Golden Week holiday, Law said arrivals from the mainland had exceeded expectations. She said this was because the Golden Week came very soon after the Mid-Autumn Festival, which fell at the end of September this year, that saw a grand lantern carnival held at Victoria Park, which drew about 730,000 visitors. Law said that with more convenient transport links and new checkpoints, the government would continue to stage distinctive, time-limited events to attract different types of visitors. Edited by Tony Sabine