The revamped Huanggang Port, which opened on Oct 12, faced its first travel peak over the Chung Yeung Festival long weekend, operating smoothly despite heavy crowds and long waits at immigration clearance, authorities said.

According to the Immigration Department, Huanggang Port recorded over 152,000 passenger trips on Sunday, ranking fourth among land boundary control points, behind only Lo Wu, the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line and Shenzhen Bay.

On Monday, the last day of the long weekend, about 9,400 passengers entered Hong Kong through the port between 2 pm and 4 pm, according to the Security Bureau. All clearance channels in the arrival hall were fully open.

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To further speed up crowd clearance, the Immigration Department said it implemented crowd diversion and control measures at the arrival hall and public transport interchange in conjunction with the Police, depending on passenger flows.

Crowds gradually began to build at the arrival hall from 4 pm while no congestion was observed.

Those who had not registered for collaborative inspection and joint clearance had to register on the spot; only two counters were available, and a line formed at one point.

The Transport Department earlier said about 120 franchised buses, 40 minibuses and 130 cross-border coaches had been deployed into service and as backup support.

Sunday saw a departure peak with a total of 77,166 passengers leaving for the Chinese mainland through Huanggang Port, and over 30,000 departing between 10 am and 2 pm. The Security Bureau’s “Easy Boundary” platform, a one-stop online immigration clearance and border traffic information system, for the first time issued a “busy” signal telling departing travelers to expect wait times of up to 45 minutes for clearance.

The Security Bureau said that 9,728 passenger trips departed during Sunday’s peak hour from 1 pm to 2 pm — nearly nine times the figure for the same period in the past. It described the situation as a sudden surge in passenger traffic, adding that various contingency plans were activated in a timely manner and that “overall operations were broadly smooth”.

The bureau said that during peak hours, passengers entering the port waited about 30 to 45 minutes at the public transport interchange for crowd diversion, while waiting times in the departure hall remained within 30 minutes.

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The bureau added that the Immigration Department had immediately opened all clearance channels and counters in the departure hall and, together with the Police, implemented crowd diversion and control measures; by 2:40 pm, the waiting time in the departure hall had been shortened to within 15 minutes.

However, many cross-border travelers posted on social media that they had waited more than an hour, or even two hours, to clear immigration, with photos in multiple posts showing the departure hall packed with passengers, and people waiting in line for lifts and escalators.

Some also said on-site directions for orderly waiting were unclear, with long lines at clearance channels and counters making the situation more chaotic.

Contact the writers at stacyshi@chinadailyhk.com