About 4.1 million people crossed the land boundary checkpoints to and from the mainland during the Christmas holiday, an increase of 5.8 percent over the same period last year, statistics from the Immigration Department showed Sunday.

During the period from Dec. 19 to Dec. 26, the number of departing passengers reached a peak of 342,000 on Dec. 25, while the peak of arrivals was on Dec. 26, with 290,000 people returning to Hong Kong. The highest daily traffic reached 560,000 on Dec. 24.

The department said the increase was mainly contributed to the rise of mainland visitors with the introduction of the Mainland Individual Visit Scheme in July.

It said about 86,000 mainland visitors under the scheme crossed the boundary to Hong Kong during the holiday.

The department had estimated that about 6.78 million people would cross the land boundary checkpoints to and from the mainland during the Christmas and New Year holiday period, an increase of 13.1 percent over the same period last year.

(Xinhua News Agency December 29, 2003)