Hong Kong welcomed a big crowd on the first day of Lunar New Year. Visitor numbers rose to 153,383, a 10.4% increase from last year. Over 120,000 of these visitors came from mainland China. The total number of inbound trips during the first two days reached 265,140, up 7.8% from last year's 245,729. The mainland's holiday runs from last Sunday to February 23, a nine-day period. Authorities expect 1.43 million visitors from the mainland during the holiday, 6% more than last year. The city has been busy with tourists both from the mainland and overseas, totaling 816,522 arrivals over five days. On Wednesday, the South China Morning Post saw heavy traffic on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and crowds of tourists waiting at the bus stop after crossing the border.