BEIJING, Feb. 2 -- A total of 5.8 million passengers are expected to cross the Luohu Checkpoint during this year's New Year holidays.

"During this year's Spring Festival travel peak that started Sunday and will continue until Feb.18, cross-border passengers at the Luohu Checkpoint will reach an average of 290,000 each day, up by 10 percent over the same period las t year," said Wang Xianguang, an official at Shenzhen Customs.

The busiest border checkpoint in the country, the Luohu Checkpoint opens at 6:30 a.m. and closes at 12 p.m. each day. Standby passages have been prepared and these could be opened at anytime to prevent passenger jams.

To reduce pressure on Shekou Checkpoint, the Shekou ferry terminals, which open at 7:15 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. every day, will add 32 daily trips to Hong Kong, including six to Kowloon, 22 to Central and four to Hong Kong International Airport from Feb. 9 to 14.

The Huanggang Checkpoint, which opened for 24-hour border crossings Jan. 27, 2003, will open all six passenger passages to ensure faster and easier passenger flow during the holidays.

Official Shenzhen Customs figures show entry and exit passengers at the city's six checkpoints _ including Luohu, Huanggang, Shekou, Shenzhen airport, Wenjindu and Shatoujiao _ reached 137 million in 2004, about 57 percent of the nation's total.

(Source:Shenzhen Daily)