SOURCE / ECONOMY
Hong Kong residents seek respite from unrest in Shenzhen
Published: Sep 10, 2019 08:43 PM

The night view of the downtown in Shenzhen city. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)



The continuous unrest in Hong Kong has seriously affected the normal lives of local residents, and an increasing number of Hongkongers are hoping to escape from the oppressive environment and seek some peaceful time in the Chinese mainland. Some Hongkongers even noted on Tuesday that they have decided to purchase homes in the mainland.

A number of hotels near Luohu and Futian ports in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province have limited rooms available and some types of rooms have already been booked out, online travel agencies showed on Tuesday.

The number of inbound and outbound Hong Kong residents through Shenzhen ports reached 23.5 million from July to August, with the number of inbound and outbound Hongkongers exceeding 400,000 each weekend, chinanews.com reported on Sunday, citing official data.

Residents in Hong Kong have suffered and some people would rather spend their weekends in Shenzhen, in a bid to "have some fresh air," the report said, citing one Hongkonger surnamed Liang.

Wendy, a Hong Kong resident who often travels to the mainland for work, told the Global Times on Tuesday that some of her friends have bought houses in Zhuhai, Guangdong. She also expressed her wish that the riots in Hong Kong could end as soon as possible.

Another Hong Kong resident surnamed Zhao told the Global Times that she had to move back to her mother's home in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong, since she had just given birth to a baby and the protests in her neighborhood were disturbing for her family.

Some Hongkongers interviewed by the Global Times said they really wanted to have a peaceful weekend in Shenzhen, but had to stay in the oppressive atmosphere of Hong Kong due to busy work schedules.