China saw a boom during last week’s Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day, recording 119 million domestic passenger trips during the three-day holiday, up 11.5 percent from the same period in 2019, marked by bustling tourist attractions and surging consumption. Official data also showed domestic revenue during the period totaled 53.95 billion yuan (US$7.6 billion), up 12.7 percent from the same period in 2019.  But the hustle and bustle actually started a few days earlier, especially between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, which have witnessed record trips of Hongkongers to “go north” as they opted for shopping and entertainment on the mainland after the city emerged from the prolonged pandemic. Between the SAR's 4-day Easter holidays, around 2.07 million inbound and 2.19 million outbound travelers passed through Hong Kong's land, sea and air border control points — 40 percent more than during the same holiday last year. Among those who left the city for vacations, over 80 percent headed for the Chinese mainland. The main pull for them is cheaper goods and services, as well as a wider array of dining options. Convenient transportation options make these getaways easy. Hong Kong tour agencies said that they had noticed a surge in the popularity of mainland destinations. EGL Tours said the number of residents who joined the company’s cross-border tours tripled compared with last Easter. The most sought-after mainland destinations included bay area cities such as Foshan, Dongguan and Huizhou, while Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan, Beijing and Shanghai, among others, had also gained in popularity.  As delightfully showcased on their social media accounts, Hong Kong residents have discovered that bubble tea in mainland offer greater diversity, the service is notably more courteous, and the restaurant cuisines reflect a more authentic representation of their origins. Meanwhile, the Zhuhai port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB), the world's longest bridge-and-tunnel sea crossing, also saw over 19,000 inbound and outbound vehicles last Monday, marking a record high since its opening, according to the border inspection station of the bridge.  During the 10-day holiday period from March 28 to April 6, cross-border vehicles using the bridge hit 170,000, with over a million passengers, 145 percent and 168 percent higher than that of 2023, respectively, marking historic highs. Inbound visitors from Hong Kong and Macao SARs accounted for 68 percent, a 25 percent surge from last year. Zhuhai port expects another new record of tourists influx in the coming Labor Day holiday, which will span from May 1 to 5. One-day tour has become more and more common among residents in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), as the "one-hour living circle" has been realized. One of the facilitation measures is the Quota-free Scheme for Hong Kong Private Cars Traveling to Guangdong via the bridge, effective from July 1, 2023, under which private cars will be exempted from paying custom duties. The northbound travel program has been made available half a year earlier for Macao residents.  China unveiled the outline development plan for the GBA in February 2019, vowing to build the GBA into a vibrant world-class city cluster, a globally influential international innovation and technology hub, and a quality living circle for living, work and travel. Over the past few years, the central government has adopted a series of concrete measures to make it more convenient for residents from Hong Kong and Macao to study, work or live in the Chinese mainland. What’s the allure to “go north”? Since the Chinese mainland reopened its borders in January last year, more Hong Kong residents are spending their holidays or weekends in neighboring mainland cities like Shenzhen.  Tired of high costs, poor service and limited choices at home, Hongkongers are going to Shenzhen to buy groceries, go out for meals and discover new bubble tea s