City’s checkpoints packed with residents heading across border for shopping and dining day trips, drawn by wider variety and better value
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenFiona Sun,Theodora YuandKristen CheungPublished: 4:45pm, 1 Jul 2026Updated: 4:54pm, 1 Jul 2026Hongkongers poured across the border on Wednesday for a wider range of dining, shopping and family leisure options, seeking a short getaway on the public holiday marking the 29th anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese rule.
Major border checkpoints, including the West Kowloon terminus and Shenzhen Bay, were packed with holidaymakers carrying luggage, shopping bags and foldable carts as they headed to mainland China on Wednesday morning.
Lawyer Edward Wong, 32, left Hong Kong for Dongguan in the neighbouring Guangdong province via the West Kowloon high-speed rail terminus to visit a friend.
He said he planned to try Dongguan’s famed roast goose rice noodles and spend time there before returning to Hong Kong later that night.
Wong added that Hong Kong eateries, which often required table sharing and imposed dining time limits, were less competitive than their mainland counterparts.
“Restaurants on the mainland are more spacious and offer better service,” he said.
