Around 740,000 Hong Kong residents entered the city on May 25, with about 90% returning via land control points, according to figures released by the city's Immigration Department on May 26 and cited by the South China Morning Post.
The bulk crossed at three checkpoints linking Hong Kong with neighboring Shenzhen: Lo Wu handled more than 165,000 returning residents, the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line recorded 129,000 and the Shenzhen Bay checkpoint processed 124,000, the official statistics showed.
The pressure built through the afternoon. By around 6 p.m., crowd-control measures were already in force on the approach to Shenzhen Bay immigration, according to Hong Kong news site Dim Sum Daily, with travelers describing temporary gate closures mid-queue and movement reduced to a shuffle.
One social media user who posted videos of the packed checkpoint at around 8 p.m. said multiple buses were stuck in a jam on the road outside as travelers lugging suitcases pressed through on foot.
"The checkpoint is packed to the brim. I have never seen it this crowded before. It is completely unprecedented," the user wrote in a post cited by SCMP, adding that staff had blocked off gates to control crowds heading from Shenzhen to Hong Kong.
