Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong railway sees record travel surge during Qingming holiday

The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link handled 86,000 passenger trips from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to the Chinese mainland on Friday, setting a new single-day record amid a surge of northbound travel during the Qingming Festival holiday, according to the China Railway Guangzhou Group.

The railway operated 239 passenger trains that day, carrying a total of 119,000 passengers.

The railway line is expected to transport more than 600,000 passengers from Friday to Tuesday, marking a year-on-year increase of 10.6 percent and highlighting the strong momentum of mobility.

The strong passenger flow reflects robust enthusiasm among Hong Kong residents for tomb-sweeping, sightseeing and shopping during the Qingming Festival holiday, with the high-speed rail emerging as their preferred mode of travel.

Popular destinations for Hong Kong travelers have expanded beyond Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Chaoshan to inland cities such as Chongqing and Guilin.

From morning tea in Shenzhen to concerts in Guangzhou and culinary tours in Chaozhou, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong “one-hour living circle” has evolved from simple shopping trips into a comprehensive experience encompassing catering, accommodation, culture, sports and entertainment, accelerating economic integration between the two regions.

To cope with surging passenger flows, Shenzhen railway authorities have implemented a "daily-adjusted train diagram" scheduling mechanism, operating an average of more than 230 cross-border passenger trains daily to maximize capacity and meet travel demand.

Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong railway sees record travel surge during Qingming holiday

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in a social media post on Sunday that he had exchanged views with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the ongoing regional conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran.

In the phone call, Araghchi noted that the United States and Israel have been attacking Iran's industrial infrastructure, hospitals, schools, residential areas, and nuclear facilities, emphasizing the need for urgent action by relevant international institutions, especially the International Atomic Energy Agency, to condemn these attacks and hold the aggressors accountable.

Araghchi also referred to the U.S. threats to attack Iranian energy facilities, saying this rhetoric is a clear admission of committing war crimes.

Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a press release on Sunday that the two ministers stressed that "reckless and illegal attacks" on Iran's civilian, industrial and energy facilities, including the Bushehr nuclear power plant, must be halted.

They warned that such actions pose a threat to the plant workers' lives and health and could lead to a radioactive disaster affecting the broader region.

The ministers spoke out against any actions that could undermine the remaining chances for promoting political and diplomatic efforts to settle the crisis.

Lavrov expressed the hope that efforts by certain countries to de-escalate the tensions around Iran would succeed, adding that the United States' abandoning the language of ultimatums and returning to negotiations would be instrumental.

Iran's FM discusses ongoing war with Russian counterpart over phone