Chung Yeung Festival 2026 falls on Sunday, October 18, and because it lands on a Sunday the Monday, October 19, becomes a compensatory public holiday. Add Saturday October 17 and Hong Kong gets a three-day weekend from October 17 to 19. This guide is not about hiking routes — it is about one thing: which checkpoint to use, what time to cross, and what time to head home.
One point most travellers miss: Chung Yeung is not a mainland public holiday. October 18 and 19 are ordinary working days in Shenzhen. So the traffic pattern differs from Mid-Autumn or National Day: the crush is mainly on the Hong Kong outbound side (Saturday and Sunday mornings) and on the inbound side on Monday evening. Shenzhen’s own metro, malls and restaurants run close to a normal weekday.
1. When is the 2026 Chung Yeung weekend, and which days will be busiest?
The festival (the ninth day of the ninth lunar month) falls on Sunday, October 18, 2026. With the Monday compensatory holiday, the long weekend runs Saturday October 17 to Monday October 19 — the last three-day break in October, with the next one not arriving until Christmas.
Based on its usual practice, the Hong Kong Immigration Department publishes passenger-flow forecasts for land boundary control points roughly a week before a long holiday, sets up a joint command centre with the Police, Customs and the MTR Corporation at Lo Wu, and opens extra and temporary counters while reducing frontline leave. The Shenzhen port authorities issue a parallel advisory. As of this update (October 12, 2026) neither side had published a Chung Yeung-specific notice, so the timing advice below is inferred from the most recent official arrangement (Mid-Autumn and National Day 2026) with the official figures cited. Check the official notices again before you travel.
2. Eight checkpoints: opening hours, metro connections and fares
The hours and fares below come from the Hong Kong Transport Department’s land cross-boundary transport pages and the Shenzhen Port Office (checked October 12, 2026). The fare column shows one normal public transport fare to that checkpoint, at full adult price and before elderly concessions.
| Checkpoint | Opening hours | Metro connection (line / station / exit) | Fare (full price) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luohu Port (Lo Wu Control Point) | 06:30–00:00 | Shenzhen Metro Line 1, Luohu Station, exits A1/A2/A3, about a 3-minute walk to the terminal; on the Hong Kong side, MTR East Rail Line to Lo Wu | Crossing is free; Shenzhen Metro from RMB 2 |
| Futian Port (Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point) | 06:30–22:30 | Shenzhen Metro Line 4 (operated by MTR Shenzhen) and Line 10, Futian Checkpoint Station, direct basement link; Hong Kong side, East Rail Line to Lok Ma Chau | KMB route B1 towards Tin Shui Wai HK$13.9–15.3; green minibus 75 HK$10.0 |
| Shenzhen Bay Port | 06:30–00:00 | Shenzhen Metro Line 13, Shenzhen Bay Checkpoint Station, exits B/C, about 100 m; Hong Kong side served by cross-boundary coaches, franchised buses and taxis | Citybus B2 (Yuen Long) HK$15.8, B2P (Tin Tsz) HK$11.3, B3 (Tuen Mun Ferry Pier) HK$16.5 |
| Liantang Port (Heung Yuen Wai Control Point) | 07:00–22:00 | Shenzhen Metro Line 2, Liantang Checkpoint Station; Hong Kong side, Citybus B7 (Sheung Shui) and B8 (Tai Wai), KMB B9 (Tuen Mun) and B9A (Yuen Long West), green minibus 59S (Sheung Shui Station) | Fares as published by the operators; car park must be booked online in advance |
| Huanggang Port (new) | 24 hours (00:00–24:00) | Shenzhen Metro Line 7, Huanggang Checkpoint Station, linked directly to the terminal basement; Hong Kong side, seven franchised bus routes and six green minibus routes drive into the public transport interchange | KMB B11 to Tin Fu from HK$10.5; green minibus 78 from HK$9.7 |
| Man Kam To Port | 07:00–22:00 | No metro; reached by cross-boundary coach and taxi from the Man Kam To Control Point | Coaches charge as published by the operators |
| Hong Kong West Kowloon HSR Port | 06:30–23:30 (station 06:00–00:00) | Short walk from MTR Austin Station (Tuen Ma Line) and Kowloon Station (Tung Chung Line); both immigration checks happen inside the station | HSR fares by class, booked on 12306 or the MTR High Speed Rail app; 14 minutes to Futian |
| Sha Tau Kok Port | Suspended | — | — |
Two easy mistakes: Futian closes at 22:30, an hour and a half earlier than Luohu and Shenzhen Bay, so do not treat them as interchangeable on the way home; and passenger and cargo services at Sha Tau Kok are currently suspended — the Chung Ying Street area needs a separate border-area permit and is not a normal checkpoint.
3. The new Huanggang Port opened on October 12 — Chung Yeung is its first long weekend
The Hong Kong Security Bureau and the Shenzhen Port Office issued a joint announcement on October 9, 2026: Huanggang Port opened at 06:30 on October 12, 2026, offering round-the-clock passenger and vehicle clearance, while passenger services at the old Shenzhen Huanggang temporary terminal and the Hong Kong Lok Ma Chau Control Point were suspended the same morning. The Chung Yeung weekend of October 17–19 is the first real stress test.
The port uses a co-location model — one queue, one document read, both sides cleared. Clearance time drops from roughly 30 minutes to about 5 minutes; the arrivals hall has 134 co-inspection e-channels alongside 68 manned counters, and the face-recognition channels are limited to travellers aged 14 or over. Design capacity rises from about 40,000 passengers a day to about 200,000.
| Item | New Huanggang Port |
|---|---|
| Opening hours | 24 hours, all year (public holidays included) |
| Clearance model | Co-location, single inspection and release |
| E-channels | 134 co-inspection self-service channels plus 68 manned counters |
| Public car park | None inside the port area, and no ride-hailing pick-up point; only designated public transport vehicles may enter |
| Shenzhen connection | Terminal basement links directly to Shenzhen Metro Line 7, Huanggang Checkpoint Station |
The most practical change for Hong Kong travellers is that the “Yellow Bus” shuttle has retired. Previously you had to reach Lok Ma Chau (San Tin), queue for the shuttle, and queue again at Huanggang. From 06:30 on October 12, local buses and green minibuses drive straight into the port interchange, so you step off the bus inside the terminal. If your destination is central Futian, the new port is worth trying.
Fares for the franchised buses and green minibuses serving the new Huanggang Port (Transport Department, effective October 12, 2026):
| Route | Destination | Service hours | Full fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| KMB B10 | Kwai Chui Estate PTI (via Tsing Yi Station, Kwai Fong) | 06:00–00:30 both ways | HK$12.1 |
| KMB B11 | Tin Fu Bus Terminus (via San Tin, Yuen Long Station, Tin Shui Wai) | 06:00–01:00 from the port | HK$10.5 |
| NLB B12 | Wu Kai Sha Station (via Tai Po Kwong Fuk interchange, Science Park, Ma On Shan) | 06:00–00:30 both ways | HK$21.0 |
| Citybus B13 | Siu Sai Wan (via North Point, Sai Wan Ho, Chai Wan) | 06:00–00:30 both ways | HK$27.6 |
| Citybus B14 | Kai Tak (via Kai Tak Sports Park, Sung Wong Toi Station) | 08:00–11:00 and 18:00–21:00 | HK$20.8 |
| Citybus B15 | Tuen Mun Castle Peak Bay (via Hung Shui Kiu, Tuen Mun Station) | Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays only, 06:00–00:30 | HK$15.5 |
| KMB NB73 (overnight) | Sha Tin town centre (via Sheung Shui Station, Tai Po) | 23:30–05:30 | HK$22.6 |
| Green minibus 78 | Pat Heung Road, near the Tai Lam interchange | 06:15–22:40 | HK$9.7 |
| Green minibus 616S (overnight) | Mong Kok (Sai Yeung Choi Street South) | 23:05–06:30 | HK$28.5 |
Short-haul cross-boundary coaches also now run to the new port around the clock: Mong Kok (HK$45–50), Jordan and Tsim Sha Tsui (HK$50–55), Kwun Tong and Lam Tin (HK$55–60), Wan Chai (HK$57–63) and Tsuen Wan (HK$45–48).
4. Expected crowds: using official Mid-Autumn and National Day figures as a benchmark
Both the Hong Kong Immigration Department and the Shenzhen port authorities publish forecasts before long holidays. The most recent official round (Mid-Autumn and National Day 2026) gives a useful ceiling — Chung Yeung has a holiday on the Hong Kong side only, so actual volumes are normally lower than a Golden Week.
- Hong Kong Immigration Department (September 28, 2026): about 7.44 million passenger trips through all control points during the National Day Golden Week (October 1–7), of which about 6.31 million used land boundary control points. The outbound land peak was October 3 (Saturday) at about 587,000 trips and the inbound peak October 4 (Sunday) at about 586,000. Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau Spur Line and Shenzhen Bay were expected to be very busy, averaging about 220,000, 190,000 and 150,000 passenger trips a day respectively.
- Shenzhen port authorities (September 16, 2026): during Mid-Autumn, daily averages at Luohu, Futian and Shenzhen Bay were forecast at about 240,000, 210,000 and 180,000; during National Day, about 240,000, 210,000 and 160,000, with a two-way peak of 983,800 on October 3.
Applied to the Chung Yeung weekend: October 17 (Sat) is the first day out and the outbound flow concentrates in the morning; October 18 (Sun) combines grave-sweeping with leisure travel; October 19 (Mon) still sees daytime departures, but the real bottleneck is the evening return rush. Of the three days, Monday evening needs the most buffer.
| Date | Direction | Expected pattern (inferred from comparable official arrangements) |
|---|---|---|
| Sat, October 17 | Outbound | Outbound peak 07:00–11:30, heaviest at Luohu and Futian; eases after 14:00 |
| Sun, October 18 (festival day) | Both ways | Busy all day; outbound peak 07:30–11:00, inbound builds from late afternoon |
| Mon, October 19 (holiday) | Inbound | Outbound 08:00–10:30; inbound peak 16:00–21:00, worst between 18:00 and 20:30 |
5. Off-peak timetable: when to cross and when to head back
The windows below are drawn from official holiday arrangements and normal flow patterns rather than an hour-by-hour official forecast, and are for guidance only.
- Smoothest window: the first 30–60 minutes after opening, i.e. 06:30–07:30 at Luohu, Futian and Shenzhen Bay (Liantang opens at 07:00). Aim to reach the Hong Kong side before 06:15.
- Second-best window: 13:00–16:30, when outbound traffic drops sharply and clearance often takes under 15 minutes.
- Avoid: 07:30–11:00 on October 17 and 18, and 18:00–20:30 on October 19. Queues in those windows can exceed 45 minutes.
- Choosing your return checkpoint: on the evening of October 19, Shenzhen Bay and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge area are usually the most congested, and crowd-control measures have been used there during past long weekends. If you are heading to western New Territories, consider the new Huanggang Port and connect to KMB B11 or Citybus B15, or green minibuses 44B/44B1.
- To avoid crowds altogether: Liantang (Heung Yuen Wai) is typically 15–25 minutes lighter than Luohu, but there is no rail link — you need Citybus B7/B8 or KMB B9/B9A plus a connection.
- Use live official data: the Security Bureau’s one-stop platform and the Hong Kong Immigration Department app both show average waiting times at land control points, refreshed every 15 minutes. The Transport Department publishes a live queue-time page too. A quick check before leaving can justify switching checkpoints.
6. Getting there: East Rail, high-speed rail, Shenzhen Metro and port buses
MTR East Rail Line (Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau)
Per Transport Department timetables: towards Lo Wu, trains leave Admiralty between 06:04 and 23:01 and Hung Hom between 05:30 and 23:07; from Lo Wu, trains run to Admiralty 05:55–00:00 and to Hung Hom 05:55–00:30, with headways of about 3–10 minutes and a journey of roughly 45 minutes from Admiralty. Towards Lok Ma Chau Spur Line, departures from Admiralty run 06:10–21:29 and from Lok Ma Chau 06:38–22:55, with headways of about 9–14 minutes and roughly 50 minutes from Admiralty. The last trains leave earlier than the checkpoints close, so on the way home check both.
High-speed rail
Hong Kong West Kowloon Station is open daily from 06:00 to 00:00, with the port clearing 06:30–23:30. Both immigration checks happen inside the station, so you bypass the queues at Luohu and Futian entirely; the trip to Futian takes about 14 minutes and to Shenzhen North about 18. Extra services are usually added around long holidays — check train numbers and times on the official 12306 website or app and book at least three to five days ahead.
Shenzhen Metro: normal weekday timetable
Note that Shenzhen Metro’s extended operating hours for the Mid-Autumn and National Day period ended on October 7, 2026. Chung Yeung is not a mainland public holiday, so no extension is expected: on most lines the last full-length train leaves around 23:00, and some lines earlier. Line 4 is operated by MTR (Shenzhen) and may differ slightly — check official notices.
Port buses and holiday-only routes
Citybus B15 (Castle Peak Bay, via Hung Shui Kiu and Tuen Mun town centre) runs daytime only on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, so all three days of the Chung Yeung weekend are covered; the other new Huanggang routes (B10, B11, B12, B13 and NB73) run daily. In past long holidays the Transport Department has asked operators to increase frequency on local franchised “B” routes serving land checkpoints and has issued extra cross-boundary coach quotas — whether that happens again for Chung Yeung depends on the latest official announcement.
7. Eat as soon as you cross: real restaurants at three checkpoints
The most practical way to travel off-peak is to shift your crossing by an hour and eat near the checkpoint. The addresses and spending levels below are from OpenRice Shenzhen and Dianping listings (September 2026); check opening hours again before you go.
Luohu Port: Cha Fan Bing Sht (Luohu Commercial City)
Inside Luohu Commercial City, opposite Shenzhen Railway Station and steps from Luohu Station on Line 1 — the “no-transport-needed” first meal after clearing immigration. Cantonese rice plates, congee and noodles, and roast meats.
Location: Luohu Commercial City, Luohu District
Metro: Line 1, Luohu Station, immediate
Spend: about RMB 41–100 per person
Futian Port: Wong Loi Kong HK-style Cha Chaan Teng (Century Place)
After a morning in the Huaqiangbei electronics markets, this branch inside Century Place is the cheapest of the three, at under RMB 40 a head.
Location: Century Place, Huaqiangbei, Futian District
Metro: Lines 2 and 7, Huaqiangbei Station
Spend: under about RMB 40 per person
Shenzhen Bay Port: Fang Lan Cha Shi (Shenzhen Bay MixC)
Shenzhen Bay MixC connects directly to Exit B1 of Houhai Station on Lines 2, 11 and 13, one ride on Line 13 from Shenzhen Bay Port — convenient for a sit-down meal after shopping.
Location: Shenzhen Bay MixC, Houhai, Nanshan District
Metro: Lines 2/11/13, Houhai Station, Exit B1
Spend: about RMB 41–100 per person
Frequently asked questions
When is Chung Yeung in 2026 and how many days off in Hong Kong?
Sunday, October 18, 2026 (the ninth day of the ninth lunar month). Because it falls on a Sunday, Monday October 19 is a compensatory holiday, giving three days off with Saturday October 17. There is no holiday in mainland China, so Shenzhen works as normal.
Which of the three days is busiest?
On the pattern of comparable official arrangements, outbound travel peaks in the mornings of October 17 and 18 (07:30–11:00), and inbound travel peaks on the evening of October 19 (18:00–20:30). To avoid the crush, travel out between 06:30–07:30 or 13:00–16:30, and be back through the checkpoint before 17:00.
Is the new Huanggang Port really 24 hours, and are the connections overnight too?
The port itself runs 24 hours, every day of the year. The connecting transport does not: of the seven franchised bus routes only NB73 (Sha Tin town centre) runs overnight, and among green minibuses only 79S (Tin Shui Wai), N44B (Tuen Mun Ferry Pier) and 616S (Mong Kok). After the last departures you rely on taxis or ride-hailing, so check the last bus before travelling in the small hours.
Will Shenzhen Metro extend its last trains for Chung Yeung?
The 2026 Mid-Autumn and National Day extension ended on October 7, after which the network reverted to its regular timetable. As Chung Yeung is not a mainland public holiday, no extension is expected. Check your station’s last train on the official Shenzhen Metro app, and remember that the last train and the checkpoint closing time are two different things.
Can I use Sha Tau Kok Port during Chung Yeung?
No. Passenger and cargo services at the Sha Tau Kok Control Point are currently suspended. To visit the Chung Ying Street area you need a separate Shenzhen border-area permit; it is not a regular checkpoint.
Can I drive and park at the new Huanggang Port?
No. Because of space constraints there is no public car park in the port area and no ride-hailing pick-up point — only designated public transport vehicles may enter. Drivers should use another checkpoint, or park in town and transfer to a bus or minibus.
Sources
- Hong Kong Security Bureau and Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government Port Office, joint announcement on the opening of Huanggang Port, October 9, 2026 (info.gov.hk).
- Hong Kong Transport Department, Land Cross-boundary Transport pages for Huanggang Port, Lo Wu Control Point, Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point, Shenzhen Bay Port, Heung Yuen Wai Control Point and Hong Kong West Kowloon Station, checked October 12, 2026.
- HKSAR Cross-departmental Working Group on Festival Arrangements, passenger flow forecast and arrangements for land crossings during the National Day Golden Week, September 28, 2026.
- Shenzhen port authorities, Mid-Autumn and National Day cross-boundary passenger forecasts, September 16, 2026 (via Shenzhen Special Zone Daily).
- Security Bureau one-stop border information platform and the Hong Kong Immigration Department mobile app (waiting times at land boundary control points).
- Hong Kong Observatory and Shenzhen Meteorological Observatory (check the weather before departure).
- Restaurant prices and addresses: OpenRice Shenzhen and Dianping public listings, September 2026.
Checkpoint hours, fares, service frequencies and holiday transport arrangements change from time to time. The information above is current as of October 12, 2026, and the latest official announcements always take precedence.
Related articles
- Chung Yeung hiking in Shenzhen 2026: six routes from Luohu, Futian and Shenzhen Bay
- Shenzhen checkpoint crowd forecasts 2026: the 983,800-passenger peak
- New Huanggang Port opens: 24-hour clearance from October 12
- Shenzhen border crossing guide 2026: opening hours and metro links
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