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The overlapping Qingming Festival and public holiday in China's Hong Kong from April 3 to 7 brought a surge in cross-border traveling between the special administrative region and neighboring Shenzhen City in the southern Guangdong Province on the mainland.

Data released by Shenzhen's rail authorities showed that from April 3 to 7, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link saw 642,000 cross-border passenger trips, up 22.5 percent year on year. And on April 3, 86,000 mainland-bound passenger trips were made from Hong Kong via the rail link, a new single-day record.

During the five-day holiday period, Shenzhen government rolled out a wide range of cultural programs for tourists, including a Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area flower show and special performances such as stand-up comedies and classical music concerts.

Hong Kong tourists enjoyed seamlessly connected experiences -- they can watch the performances right after border inspections, then begin shopping in Shenzhen's commercial areas soon after the shows, thanks to the "one-hour living circle" of the Greater Bay Area facilitated by convenient transportation, customs clearances and cross-border payments.

Overlapping holidays see travel surge between Shenzhen, Hong Kong