Han Ximin

1824295095@qq.com

A TOTAL of 8.32 million travelers hit Shenzhen, with tourism raking in 7.8 billion yuan (US$1.08 billion) during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday, data from the city’s tourism administration showed.

The figures increased by 4.71% and 2.62%, respectively, compared with the same period in 2019.

The city’s major tourist attractions received a total of 2.74 million visitors during the holiday, with a revenue of 194 million yuan, data showed. In addition, a report from www.ctrip.com showed that Shenzhen was one of the top 10 tourist destinations in China during the holiday.

Car sales

During the holiday, the five-day 2023 Shenzhen International Auto Show attracted a total of 386,900 visitors and inked deals worth 5.7 billion yuan for 18,839 vehicles.

The auto show, held at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center, spanned 80,000 square meters, which covered five halls and an outdoor exhibition area. The show featured 80 brands and 800 vehicle models on display.

Potential vehicle buyers were pumped up for new models of new energy vehicles (NEVs), with consumption incentives and subsidies available to them.

Nanshan District offered 100 million yuan in subsidies and over 80 car dealers from the district participated in the auto show. Bao’an District allotted 50 million yuan for car sales promotion, while Longgang and Luohu districts also offered various incentives for vehicle purchases.

Leisure reading

The North Division on Shenzhen Library, located in Longhua District, which was put into trial operation Sept. 28, attracted 15,000 readers over the holiday. The library’s 3,500-square-meter first-floor reading hall features a diverse-themed collection spanning 12,000 books and 20,000 foreign-language books.

Data from Shenzhen Publishing Group showed its six book stores received a total of 1.06 million visits by Oct. 6, up 102% year on year; with book sales reaching 7.33 million yuan, up by 4% year on year.

The stores also organized over 50 reading activities, lectures, craft making, performances and other reading-related events during the holiday.

Border crossing

Data from West Kowloon Station in Hong Kong showed that 710,000 travelers crossed the border between Shenzhen and Hong Kong via high-speed railway between Sept. 29 and Oct. 6, or an average of 90,000 travelers a day. Mainland travelers accounted for 70.4%, up by 115% year on year.

On Sept. 30, the station saw 107,000 cross-border travelers, a new record since it began operation in 2018. Travelers from Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu mostly took trains to travel to Hong Kong.

In another development, the Shenzhen airport handled a total of 1.4 million passengers during the holiday. On Oct. 4, it handled 184,000 passengers, a new single-day record since the May Day holiday.

Railway travel

During the holiday travel rush period from Sept. 27 to Oct. 8, the city’s railway terminals managed a total of 7.42 million passengers. This figure is 3.51 million higher than the corresponding period last year and represents a 10.8% increase compared to the same period in 2019.

Shenzhen North Railway Station handled an impressive 5.05 million passenger trips, equivalent to an average of 421,400 daily. This marks a significant surge of 15.22% compared to the same period in 2019.

During an interview yesterday, Li Jianfang, the head of the technical support section at Shenzhen North Railway Station, stated, “Over the course of 12 days, Shenzhen North Railway Station catered to the demand for travel by operating 805 high-speed trains daily. Additionally, Shenzhen Railway Station handled 170 high-speed and intercity trains per day.”

Li noted that Shenzhen North Railway Station hit a new record Oct. 1 by sending 300,000 passengers.