Crossing
Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau and Shenzhen Bay lead Golden Week 2026
Updated 2 October 2026
Three ports take the heat during National Day Golden Week 2026. The Immigration Department puts the seven-day forecast at about 7.44 million passenger trips across air, sea and land control points, and about 6.31 million of those are expected at the land crossings. Lo Wu is forecast at about 220,000 a day, the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line at 190,000, and Shenzhen Bay at 150,000. If your trip is flexible, that is your pecking order.
The seven-day forecast
The Immigration Department expects about 7.44 million passenger trips through Hong Kong's control points during National Day Golden Week, 1 to 7 October 2026. Land boundary control points are forecast to take about 6.31 million of those. GBA News carried the figures on 30 September.
Lo Wu leads on the daily average at about 220,000. The Lok Ma Chau Spur Line is forecast at about 190,000. Shenzhen Bay is third at about 150,000. The three together handle most of the land load. The other land ports, Futian, Huanggang, Heung Yuen Wai and West Kowloon HSR, take the rest.
An average daily figure is not a timetable. Treat it as a planning estimate.
What the forecast looks like at the gates
Lo Wu at 220,000 a day is roughly the average the MTR crossing has seen during other peak periods. The Lok Ma Chau Spur Line at 190,000 closes at 10:30 pm, and 190,000 a day is enough to keep the walkways busy from late morning onward.
Shenzhen Bay at 150,000 is the road crossing. If you arrive by bus or car, that is your port. The new Huanggang Port is still not open, so the existing shuttle keeps handling the 24-hour crowd. Our crossing picker covers the practical split.
When the queues actually peak
Departures peak on Friday 3 October. Arrivals are heaviest on Saturday 4 October. The early-week crowd is the outbound crowd, with Hong Kong residents leaving between Wednesday and Friday. The mid-week peak is the return crowd, with mainland day-trippers coming back before the holiday ends.
Lo Wu is lighter before 7:30 am and after 9 pm, and midweek. The Spur Line is busiest on Sunday afternoons. Shenzhen Bay is heaviest on Friday afternoons and Sunday mornings. Our queue timing guide has the live detail.
How to read the figures
An average daily estimate is not a guarantee. It is a planning number for the Immigration Department to staff the gates. Queues can spike on a single morning and drop to nothing at a weekday lunchtime.
Treat the forecast as a starting point, not a guarantee. The Easy Boundary service on sb.gov.hk shows live waiting times at the major crossings.
What this means for choosing a port
For most Hong Kong residents, the choice comes down to where you live and where in Shenzhen you are going. Lo Wu is the default for East Rail Line users heading to Luohu. The Spur Line is the default for East Rail Line users heading to Futian station. Shenzhen Bay is the default for bus and car users heading to Nanshan.
If you are flexible, the lower the better. Of the three, Shenzhen Bay at 150,000 is the lightest. If your destination is closer to Futian station than Luohu, the Spur Line beats Lo Wu.
What is not the new Huanggang Port
The new Huanggang Port is not in these numbers. It is still not open as of 2 October 2026. The government has said it should come in the fourth quarter of 2026, with The Standard reporting a target of Monday 12 October. Until it opens, the existing Lok Ma Chau to Huanggang shuttle keeps handling the 24-hour crowd. Our new Huanggang guide covers what changes.
If the new port opens mid-Golden Week, expect a short drop in numbers at the existing Huanggang crossing. The drop is unlikely to last. Director of Immigration Benson Kwok told RTHK on 5 September that he expects at least 100,000 crossings a day at the new port from the start.
A practical default for the seven days
Default to the port that suits your origin and destination, not the one with the lowest forecast number. For Lo Wu, that means before 7:30 am or after 9 pm. For the Spur Line, that means before 9 am or after 8 pm. For Shenzhen Bay, that means before 10 am or after 7 pm.
Carry both documents, validate your Easy Boundary registration the day before, and have a backup port in mind. The forecast is a planning estimate, not a guarantee.
Hours in the cards follow the Hong Kong Immigration Department control-point table. They move. Check the morning you travel.