The number of passengers using the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) is expected to rise by more than a quarter year on year during this year’s Dragon Boat Festival holiday, boosted by the demand for travel for family reunions, leisure pursuits and business interests.
This year's Dragon Boat Festival holiday starts on Friday and runs until Sunday. Official forecasts indicate an ongoing peak travel period during the three-day holiday, with XRL passenger volume expected to reach 538,000, a 26.8 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Passenger volume on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival (Friday) is expected to reach 130,000, setting a new record.
To ease capacity pressure, the rail link will add 30 additional round-trip trains between Shenzhen’s Futian Station and the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station on Friday and Sunday to facilitate cross-boundary travel.
According to Shenzhen Railway, this year's Dragon Boat Festival holiday will see a convergence of three major types of cross-boundary passenger flows: those for family visits, those for tourism, and those for business travel. Additionally, the recently concluded college entrance examinations (the Gaokao) will also generate travel demand from fresh graduates.
To further expand its mainland market, the XRL recently announced that it will add three new stations from July 1 —Guangzhou North, Yiwu in Zhejiang province and Fuqing West in Fujian province’s capital Fuzhou — bringing the total number of its direct mainland destinations to 113.
Guangzhou North is a major transportation hub in the Greater Bay Area, while Yiwu is globally renowned for its wholesale market in small commodities. Fuqing, meanwhile, boasts abundant cultural and tourism resources, including the ruins of the Southern Shaolin Temple.
The Shenzhen General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection predicts that the average daily passenger volume during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday will reach 1.05 million.
Regarding land border crossings, passenger flow will concentrate at Luohu, Futian, Shenzhen Bay, and Liantang ports, with peak inbound passenger volume expected on Friday. The Luohu Port is expected to handle an average of 260,000 cross-border passengers daily.
Fu Wenqing, a tourist from Hebei province, plans to visit Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, with her family during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, hoping to experience Guangdong's culture. "I'm really looking forward to having dim sum with my family and trying the savory rice dumplings of the Southern regions," Fu said.
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Over the next few days, Fu plans to take a day trip to Hong Kong. She said the high-speed rail linking Guangdong and Hong Kong is extremely convenient — allowing her to travel in the morning and return in the evening — making her trip feel more complete.
As the most anticipated activity of the Dragon Boat Festival, a series of distinctive dragon boat races will be held across the Greater Bay Area. In Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, the events are staged as international invitationals, bringing together teams from home and abroad to compete side by side on the same course.
With Shenzhen serving as the host city for this year’s APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, it has also invited APEC member economies to take part in the race.
While Foshan’s dragon-boat races prioritize speed and technique, Dongguan places greater emphasis on endurance through long-distance challenges. In Zhuhai, the event’s setting has expanded beyond rivers to the open sea — providing a broader stage for this time-honored folk activity.
Davis Xu, Zhou Mo contributed to the story
