On the morning of January 13, Hong Kong people were choosing roast meat at the Senzhao Meat Market in Liantang, Luohu District.
On January 11, the "Shi Nai Group" finished their tour and "swept goods" at a supermarket in Luohu.
"For about 100 yuan, you can spend a whole day in Shenzhen by eating, singing, and shopping." On the morning of January 14, Auntie Ni, a Hong Kong resident, said, pointing to her old friends who were dining. Since last year, there has been a trend in Hong Kong of going north to eat. Many Hong Kong nurses even organized groups to go to Shenzhen to purchase daily necessities. Some said they could save thousands of yuan in household expenses a month.
Since Shenzhen and Hong Kong fully resumed customs clearance last year, as of January 11, 2024, 58.76 million passengers have passed through the three major ports in Luohu, including 45.74 million Hong Kong residents. On average, there are 77 Hong Kong residents for every 100 customs passengers. Hong Kong people went north to "go shopping and eat," causing Shenzhen's major supermarkets to clamor to catch this "tremendous wealth." Yao Bin, director of the marketing planning department of Shenzhen Jinguanghua Plaza, said that shopping mall traffic surged by 30%, with long queues at major stores, directly pushing a restaurant to have the highest turnover in its national chain store.
01
"Cross-border grocery shopping" teacher's wife returned to Hong Kong and brought a white-cut chicken
In Liantang Port Commercial City, Hema Liantang Jufu Store, Senzhao Meat Market and China Resources Vanguard Supermarket, you can now see the expressions of Hong Kong people everywhere It's easy to spot them: many wear glasses, sneakers, backpacks, and a trolley shopping cart stuffed with groceries.
Roasted meat, roasted chicken, dumplings, mung bean cakes, organic vegetables... In front of the barbecue stall in the Liantang Port Commercial City, Mrs. Chen put her "trophies" one by one into a small folding trailer. He waved to his friends to join him: "There are so many beautiful things. Buy a few more kilograms and go back to eat for a few days."
In the Liantang Port Commercial City, where food and daily necessities are all available, people like Chen Shinai "cross-border grocery shopping" There are quite a few "teacher-milk groups". Most of them send their children to school early and use a few hours to come to Shenzhen to buy enough fruits, vegetables, cooked food, desserts, etc. for their families for a few days. "The membership price of white radish is 0.89 yuan per catty, which is like giving it away for free, and the roasted pork is 50 yuan per catty, which is more than twice as cheap as in Hong Kong." Mrs. Chen said that she can save thousands of yuan in family expenses in a month.
Those who have more time will directly refer to the recommendations of Internet celebrities on social media and go to the meat and vegetable markets in Aoxia Village and Liantang Village, 2 kilometers away from the port. Every day around 11 a.m., the various BBQ stalls in the market are always crowded with Hong Kong friends. "I come here several times a month. Every time I return to Hong Kong, I have to bring a plain-cut chicken. Hong Kong's chicken is chilled, and the meat is very raw and not tasty. Only chicken from the mainland has a 'chicken flavor'." Mrs. Wu Pointing to a golden-colored cooked chicken that had just been hung on the barbecue rack, he said to the clerk, "I want this one, cut off the head and tail, and seal it for me."
Good quality and low price are one of the major reasons for Hong Kong people to buy vegetables across the border. The main reason is that there are still many Hong Kong people who like the service quality of the mainland. On the afternoon of the 12th, at the entrance of Jufu Supermarket in Hema Liantang, Aunt Wu was opening suitcases on the ground to share the "loots" with a group of colleagues from Hong Kong nursing homes. The eight of them purchased a total of more than 3,000 yuan in food, daily necessities, etc., and they were very satisfied. Aunt Wu excitedly told reporters about a Musang King Durian Layer Cake priced at 49.9 yuan in the Amway store, "There is one left over there. Go grab it. Remember to eat it with coffee and latte. It tastes particularly good. In Hong Kong This cake is cut into 8 equal parts, and each piece costs almost HK$50.” In Aunt Wu’s view, mainland supermarkets are “all good, pretty, and super friendly to Hong Kong people.” For example, buying a piece of durian The cake mall will also provide ice cubes and plastic bags to seal, "making shopping comfortable and happy".
Hong Kong people’s consumption in Shenzhen is also related to the increasingly lower transportation and time costs between Shenzhen and Hong Kong. As the youngest port between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, Liantang Port is the first customs clearance port to adopt the "direct passenger and vehicle access" mode. The convenience of seamlessly connecting Shenzhen and Hong Kong and the NT$4 discount for traveling between Shenzhen and Hong Kong for seniors over 60 years old have made Liantang Port a popular "buy, buy, buy" port.
67-year-old Aunt Ni comes to Shenzhen via Liantang Port on average three or four times a week."If you're bored, come here and go for a spin. Take the subway and walk around. A day and a half will pass quickly." Aunt Ni said that she has nothing to do after retirement. She likes the lively people in the mainland and often goes shopping with friends. This time I came with a friend to send two bottles of wine back to the countryside, and took the subway to Xiaomeisha to see the sea.
"Four people travel between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and the elderly can take the subway in Shenzhen for free. Five people come together, and each spends more than 100 yuan to spend the day eating and singing karaoke. Do you think it's fun or not?" Aunt Ni pointed out with a smile. He said, pointing to the gray-haired old friends dining at the next table.
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Businesses in Shenzhen turn traffic into sales. One store turns over an average of 8 times a day.
The business district close to the port is still the "main position" for Hong Kong tourists to check in. Take Jinguanghua Plaza as an example. It is the first international shopping mall in Shenzhen that is seamlessly connected to the subway. It can be reached directly by taking one stop of the subway from Luohu Port. The whole journey takes about 12 minutes, and the whole journey is not afraid of sun or rain.
The reporter visited and found that the PARKnSHOP supermarket in the mall posted a message saying "buy it" and "love it" for Hong Kong customers. During meal time, there are long queues at the entrance of restaurants such as "Tai Er" Pickled Fish, Zhoushi Aquatic Products, Chef Fei, and Hakka. Hong Kong tourists carry bags and suitcases and study the menu in Hong Kong-style Cantonese. Almost everyone is carrying a cup of Grandma’s handmade or Bawang Chaji drinks, and before leaving, they also buy a bag of Master Bao’s pastries to take home.
"This is currently the highest turnover among Taier pickled fish restaurants in the country. There are long queues every day, and more than 70% of the customers are from Hong Kong." Yao Bin, director of the marketing planning department of Shenzhen Jinguanghua Plaza, said that since the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao After people-to-person traffic was fully restored, the shopping mall's passenger flow increased by 30%, and almost all of the new passenger flow were Hong Kong customers.
It has become a new trend for young people to have fun in Shenzhen. Every weekend, many Hong Kong youths choose to go north to have a hea (for recreation). The activities are inseparable from eating, drinking, having fun and checking in. "Everyone has eaten this area. Let's check out the food guide and come and try this Hunan restaurant." Ms. Liu, a young Hong Kong born in the 1990s, said that when she has time, she comes to Shenzhen to check in and "explore restaurants" to eat and drink afternoon tea. Sometimes I come here for late-night snacks after get off work. I bluntly say that there are many good things to eat in Shenzhen, with many varieties, large space, and more affordable prices.
Amidst the trend of planting grass and checking in, some people choose to stay "in place". "I don't have much entertainment. I just like to make clothes and have fun. When I come to Shenzhen, I only come to the Commercial City. I am not familiar with other places." Su Shinai, 67 years old, was wearing a navy blue jacket and curling her hair with instant noodles. She was holding a piece of cut wool fabric in her left hand and dragging a suitcase full of clothes in her right hand. She was looking for a "hotel" in Luohu Commercial City. My favorite tailor shop. She has been patronizing Luohu Commercial City for more than ten years, and has been coming three or four times a week since passing customs. "I have a petite figure and can't always buy clothes that fit me. I like to spend thousands of dollars to buy a beautiful shirt in Hong Kong and then bring it to the mainland to have a few more styles altered," said Su Shinai.
"With more than 1,000 yuan, you can have meals, manicures, massages, clothes, dental appointments, and glasses all in one stop. Luohu Commercial City is still the first choice for many Hong Kong tourists." Deputy General Manager of Luohu Commercial City Property Management Co., Ltd. He Sheng'an said that after customs clearance, the passenger flow of the commercial city has at least doubled. Danguixuan and Xiaotaoyuan restaurants, which are popular places for Hong Kong people, can turn over their tables almost eight times a day, and 60% of custom-made clothing stores are Hong Kong customers. Currently, the shops in the commercial city are nearly fully occupied.
On the other hand, merchants have also launched exclusive promotions for Hong Kong customers. At the same time, they continue to improve their services, enhance the consumption experience of Hong Kong customers, and strive to convert traffic into sales.
Cheng Wei from the marketing planning department of Jinguanghua Plaza said that Jinguanghua has opened an international SMS channel for Hong Kong customers. Using a Hong Kong mobile phone number, you can directly register as a mall member and directly receive various vouchers with zero threshold. At the same time, the mall also supports payment in Hong Kong dollars, without the need to exchange RMB, and enjoys a high-quality exchange rate. "We first want to capture this 'wealth from heaven', and after that it is best to turn it into 'wealth the day after tomorrow'. Not only can Hong Kong customers enjoy delicious food, but it can also support our retail of fashionable clothing and other items." Cheng Wei said.
"The arrival of Hong Kong customers has given us confidence and motivation." Jiang, the store manager of Hema Liantang Jufu Store, said that Hong Kong does not allow raw meat products to be brought into the country, so the store provides processing and steaming services for customers to facilitate Hong Kong customers to take them back for further processing. . At the same time, it also added services such as catering processing and dining areas, and regularly launched promotional product combinations such as "Mountain Price" to enhance consumer stickiness.
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The border inspection station has fully opened inspection channels, "as friendly as relatives coming to visit"
Zeng Wei, deputy director of the Political Department of the Luohu Entry-Exit Border Inspection Station, said that now every working day near lunch and dinner time, many Hong Kong tourists come to Shenzhen Consumption. Luohu Port alone has an average daily customs clearance volume of 140,000 people on weekdays, with peak entry times concentrated between 11 a.m. and 13 p.m. On weekends, the daily passenger flow reaches 180,000 to 200,000 people. In order to ensure the safe and smooth customs clearance of inbound and outbound passengers, Luohu Border Inspection Station has strengthened passenger flow analysis, opened up sufficient inspection channels, deployed more police officers in consultation and guidance positions, added fast lanes for people in need of assistance, etc. It has also established a tour group forecasting mechanism with travel agencies and divided special waiting areas. Inspection and centralized police inspection and release.
Behind the continuously rising numbers, Zeng Wei sees the accelerated flow of people, logistics, technology and capital. Nowadays, the two cities of Shenzhen and Hong Kong are becoming more and more closely connected. Whether you go south to visit the "citywalk" or go north to eat, drink and have fun, The residents of Shenzhen and Hong Kong are all heading for a better life.
"Even if you just come here to have a cup of coffee and get your nails dyed, we will be very happy if you feel comfortable." Zeng Wei said that every time he sees Hong Kong people carrying big and small bags, their faces are filled with smiles, just like seeing relatives coming to visit. kind.
Chen Qi, publicity officer at Luohu Border Inspection Station, clearly feels that Hong Kong people have become more "active". On January 10, at the Luohu Border Inspection Station Police Barracks Open Day event, Hong Kong passengers who had cleared customs spontaneously lined up to ask the staff for photos. The Bay Area is getting better and better" and other handwritten blessings. "More and more Hong Kong tourists choose to go through the express lane collection procedures, and they are more willing to work hard to communicate with us in Mandarin." Chen Qi said, "I feel that the psychological distance between the residents of the two places is closer."
Daily Hidden in firewood, rice, oil and salt is the most concrete smoke and smoke of human beings. As citizens of Shenzhen and Hong Kong go through customs and "visit each other" become a daily routine, the beautiful picture of the "one-hour living circle" in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is slowly unfolding.
Writing/photography: Nandu reporter Lin Miner
