Since July, the Luohu checkpoint in Shenzhen has recorded an average daily flow of over 250,000 travelers between Hong Kong and the mainland, with the number of mainland visitors up 40% year-on-year. Border inspection authorities predict weekday traffic during the summer holidays will reach 190,000 daily, surging to over 240,000 on weekends — more than 10% higher than normal days.

As schools in Shenzhen and Hong Kong begin their summer breaks, cross-border family trips and student study tours are emerging as a major trend. Featuring parent-child retreats and cross-border educational experiences, these trips have been fueled by a wave of collaborative cultural and tourism initiatives.

Shenzhen recently unveiled 23 service measures to expand consumer offerings for cross-border visitors. Family-friendly destinations such as Dameisha Beach, with its golden sands and open-air pools, and Honghu Park, where visitors can paddle among lotus leaves in traditional rowboats, have become popular escapes from the heat.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s “Summer Party” campaign offers 150 special experiences, from discounted entry to Ocean Park’s water attractions to evening firefly tours at the Wetland Park. Many families are creatively combining resources on both sides of the border into seamless day trips — from morning museum visits in Shenzhen to afternoon study tours in Hong Kong and cross-border shopping sprees at night, forming what is now called a “North-South lifestyle circle.”

This trend has also been boosted by Shenzhen’s upgraded instant tax refund services for departing visitors, which allow Hong Kong and Macao residents to enjoy smooth, hassle-free shopping experiences. Cross-border spending is seeing steady weekly growth, reflecting a normalization of cross-border living and tourism demand.

At the same time, China’s expanding visa-free policies and more convenient payment systems have made inbound travel for foreigners more popular. Since the start of 2025, Luohu Port has processed 560,000 foreign travelers, a 48% increase year-on-year, with over 5,300 visa-free transit tour groups recorded.

To handle the surging traffic, Luohu checkpoint has upgraded pre-arrival information collection and intelligent pre-inspection systems, improving average clearance efficiency by 20%. A comprehensive service center for foreigners and multilingual service counters now provide policy guidance, tourism recommendations, and consumer tips. Priority lanes for seniors and express lanes for foreign travelers have also reduced clearance times by over 40%.