Some 230,000 people of Hong Kong traveled northward to the mainland Saturday to visit relatives or for sightseeing in the lunar new year, according to the statistics from the Immigration Department Sunday.

To handle the large number of travelers, the Immigration Department opened 60 more counters at various cross-boundary checkpoints, enabling most travelers to pass the checkpoint in 15 minutes.

A spokesperson with the Immigration Department said that the lunar new year eve (February 11) will be the peak time for Hong Kong people to return the mainland and estimated that over 270,000 people will leave Hong Kong through various checkpoints that day.

The peak time for Hong Kong people to return Hong Kong will be February 17 and some 200,000 people are expected to return Hong Kong through Lo Wu, the busiest checkpoint linking Hong Kong and neighboring Shenzhen, the spokesperson said.

The Immigration Department also estimates that the number of travelers crossing Lo Wu during the Spring Festival holidays this year will exceed 5 million people, 10 percent more than that last year.

From February 2 to 9, a total of 2.13 million travelers have passed various checkpoints in Hong Kong. The Immigration Department has so far received no report of congestion or complaints from travelers.

(Xinhua News Agency February )