I went to Shenzhen 9 million times this summer, and 7.33 million Hong Kong people

This summer, Shenzhen was overcrowded by Hong Kong people. In several shopping malls near Shenzhen Futian High Speed Rail Station, Hong Kong visitors can be seen everywhere, accounting for almost more than half of the mall visitors.

The data has the most intuitive reflection. Ctrip data shows that in July and August, the overall tourism booking volume of Hong Kong tourists to Shenzhen increased by 257% year-on-year and 14% month on month compared to the previous two months; Hotel orders increased by 301% year-on-year and 12% month on month compared to the previous two months; Ticket orders increased by 447% year-on-year and 116% month on month compared to the previous two months.

On Xiaohongshu and Tiktok, Hong Kong people are sharing more and more Shenzhen shopping experiences.

Why are more and more Hong Kong people flocking to Shenzhen? What stage has the interconnectivity of the Greater Bay Area entered?

On social media, you can find many guides and notes related to "How to Play Shenzhen" posted by Hong Kong people

Not only for eating, drinking, and having fun, but also for repairing cars and seeing teeth in Shenzhen

The data from different levels all indicate a problem: the northbound consumption boom of Hong Kong people has indeed arrived.

According to public data released by the Hong Kong Immigration Department, Chao News reporters have found that from July 1 to August 29, more than 9 million Hong Kong people have entered Shenzhen, and the total population of Hong Kong is 7.3332 million. On average, during this summer vacation, each Hong Kong person has entered Shenzhen 1.2 times.

A grassroots governance researcher at Aoyi Network has sorted out relevant data and estimated that in July alone, the total consumption amount of northbound Hong Kong residents reached HKD 4 billion.

According to the data released by Cushman&Wakefield, a consulting firm, the passenger flow of Shenzhen shopping malls increased significantly year on year, and the daily average passenger flow of the first four months of this year increased by 68% and 46.8% respectively compared with last year.

What did Hong Kong people play in Shenzhen? According to Ctrip data, the top 5 popular tourist attractions for Hong Kong tourists visiting Shenzhen are: Window of the World, Shenzhen Wildlife Park, Shenzhen Happy Valley, CITIC Jinshawan Water World, and Kalu Ice and Snow World.

The waiter of an online red pickled Chinese cabbage fish shop in Shenzhen told the Tide News reporter that since the summer vacation, Hong Kong tourists have surged, the business in the shop has doubled, and the waiting time on weekends has been up to an hour and a half.

How do Hong Kong people perceive the enthusiasm for going north during this summer vacation? Yesterday, Hong Kong tycoon Tian Beichen posted on social media, "Going north is becoming a trend in consumption? New strategies for retaining people and customers!". In Tian Beichen's view, the shopping malls in Shenzhen are more innovative than those in Hong Kong, and one can even play racing and skiing in the malls. The surrounding restaurants are also delicious and innovative.

Apart from eating, drinking, and having fun, Hong Kong people also have a lot of other expenses in Shenzhen.

Miss He from Hong Kong described to reporters her two experiences of traveling to Shenzhen this month.

Miss He took a photo while driving on the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge

On August 5th, Miss He completed her application for "Hong Kong Vehicles Going North" after a month of waiting. Simply put, "Hong Kong Vehicles Going North" is a new policy that began on July 1st this year, allowing compliant and qualified Hong Kong private cars to travel through the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge to Hong Kong and Guangdong Province without obtaining regular quotas.

Driving on a self driving trip to mainland China made Miss He feel very comfortable. "Before, I used to take a bus to places like Shenzhen, and I had to transfer to the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge, which was time-consuming and expensive." However, "Hong Kong bus heading north" could save Miss He more than an hour from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, and the cost was even lower, only requiring a bridge toll of 150 yuan.

Miss He's selfie in Shenzhen

In addition to saving time and money in travel, the prices of food and car repairs in Shenzhen are also lower than those in Hong Kong. "The food and oil prices in Shenzhen are almost half as cheap as those in Hong Kong. For example, the oil price in Hong Kong is 18 yuan per liter, but in Shenzhen it is only 9 yuan per liter. Many of the people queuing up in Shenzhen's restaurants such as Bao Shifu, Hema Fresh, and Ruike Grandpa are Hong Kong people who also come to the mainland to do car maintenance and repair."

The price advantage of Shenzhen and the "Hong Kong car northbound" policy have led more Hong Kong people to choose Shenzhen for car maintenance and repair. An employee of a car repair company in Shenzhen, Xiaowen, told reporters that the store is receiving more and more Hong Kong customers for maintenance and repair. "Last month, we repaired more than 10 old-fashioned cars from Hong Kong." Comparing the price list, you can see how cost-effective it is to do maintenance in Shenzhen. A car maintenance modification in Hong Kong costs around HKD 6800, while in Shenzhen it only costs HKD 1980. "Some stores in Hong Kong are 1.5 times more expensive than in Shenzhen just for labor costs," Xiaowen explained.

At a dental hospital near Futian Port, all weekend appointments are fully booked, and there is a shortage of doctors who speak Cantonese. The average consumption of Hong Kong guests exceeds HKD 3000, and nearly 40% of patients have periodontal problems.

According to Hong Kong media reports, mainland dentists have a significant price advantage, with treatment items such as dental implants accounting for about 1/5 to 1/3 of the price in Hong Kong. Orthodontics and dental treatment also have high cost-effectiveness, making them highly favored by Hong Kong citizens.

What does the passion behind the two-way rush mean?

Since the comprehensive resumption of customs clearance between Shenzhen and Hong Kong this year, economic and trade exchanges between the two regions have become increasingly close, and Hong Kong residents have been increasingly enthusiastic about cross city consumption in Shenzhen.

To accommodate and attract Hong Kong tourists heading north, Shenzhen has also made great efforts, such as setting up service points to assist Hong Kong tourists in using cross-border payment tools, distributing Shenzhen tourism guides, and improving the traditional Chinese and English signage of ports.

The superior and convenient transportation conditions are a prerequisite for Hong Kong residents to be fond of "heading north" for consumption. In addition to "Hong Kong cars heading north", other ways for Hong Kong people to travel to the mainland are also becoming increasingly convenient.

Taking high-speed rail as an example, the Guangzhou Shenzhen Hong Kong cross-border high-speed rail has added 22 trains from this weekend. From West Kowloon in Hong Kong to Futian in Shenzhen, it only takes 14 minutes, and Futian in Shenzhen, adjacent to Hong Kong, has become the first stop for many Hong Kong people entering the mainland. The bus and subway are equally convenient. On June 1st this year, the "Shenzhen Hong Kong One Code Pass" was launched, and residents from both cities can use a single app to cross city swipe codes and take the bus and subway in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

On the other hand, mainland tourists are still the main force of visitors to Hong Kong. According to data released by the Hong Kong Tourism Development Council, the number of visitors to Hong Kong in July this year was 3.6 million, an increase of 31% on a monthly basis; 83% of them are mainland tourists, with approximately 2.97 million people. From this, it can be seen that Shenzhen and Hong Kong are interconnected, and there is a high enthusiasm for consumption in both directions.

Professor Wang Peng, a researcher at the Institute of Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan Economics at the School of Economics of Jinan University, told Chao News that the phenomenon of "reverse consumption" brought about by the "Hong Kong people going north" trend is also worth paying attention to. "In the long run, it was mainland friends who went to Hong Kong to buy Hong Kong's milk powder, cosmetics, skincare products, and various luxury goods, including some ordinary products. However, now Hong Kong citizens are willing to" go north "to Shenzhen, Dongguan, and other places to buy mainland products, including food and milk tea. This indicates that in recent years, the quality of mainland products has been greatly improved, with styles, flavors, and product designs catering to the needs and tastes of more audiences, which is why it has attracted the love of many Hong Kong citizens, especially young people."

The highly discussed "reverse purchasing" on social media

Behind Hong Kong's overcrowding of Shenzhen is the further acceleration of connectivity in the Greater Bay Area. With the increasingly frequent circulation of factors and resources, the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area is showing a new stage of comprehensive, comprehensive, and full chain deep integration and innovative cooperation. What kind of great opportunities and great future will continue to flourish in the 56000 square kilometer Greater Bay Area?

In Professor Wang Peng's view, nowadays, a large number of entrepreneurs and young people from Hong Kong have directly entered the mainland through customs clearance, which not only strengthens communication and interaction between the two places, but also allows young people in Hong Kong to observe and interact with the mainland more intuitively and closely, "especially the achievements of the reform and opening up in the mainland." The concentrated manifestation of the "one hour living circle" in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area this summer has given Wang Peng, a scholar who has lived in Guangdong for many years, more expectations. "Nowadays, we can see more and more vehicles with Hong Kong license plates on the road, which represents our increasing economic activity, closer integration with Hong Kong and Macao, and also looks forward to the development of the two places in the future."