At least 500,000 people crossed the border from Saturday and Sunday to celebrate Christmas in Shenzhen, according to Liu Liheng, an official with Shenzhen's checkpoint administration office yesterday.

On Saturday, more than 310,000 people entered Shenzhen from Hong Kong for Christmas Eve revelry. By 10 p.m. yesterday, the office forecast that the checkpoints would record 200,000 travelers for the day, with the exact figure available early this morning.

"The entry figure for this Christmas is about 15 percent up from the same time last year. The reason might be that the Christmas this year fell on the weekend," said Liu.

Besides these cross-border fun-seekers, Shenzheners crowded the city's restaurants, bars, shopping centers and parks to experience the festive atmosphere. In many places, including Sea World, the theme parks in the OCT area, Huaqiangbei and Dongmen, celebrations lasted till midnight.

In Happy Valley, nearly 15,000 people gathered for the park's popular music festival. A highlight of the Christmas celebrations saw a grand Santa Claus Parade on Saturday and Sunday evening co-organized by the Shenzhen Daily. Ten Santa Clauses and Mrs. Clauses from the United States, Canada, India, Germany, Kenya and the Philippines, wished all the visitors a merry Christmas and distributed Christmas gifts to the crowd.

Sea World in Shekou became a sea of happiness, with people from different countries packing the area and heating up the celebratory atmosphere. Many foreigners said they had a great time celebrating Christmas in Shenzhen.

"I have stayed in Shekou for seven years, and I find more and more festivity here for the Christmas. More of my foreign friends have chosen to stay in Shenzhen for this Christmas," said Peter Bartalos from Hungary.

Meanwhile, Christians and the curious crowded the Shenzhen Christian Church in Meilin for Protestant services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Thousands filled all three floors of the massive church and overflowed into halls, down the steps and into the road. Inside, the service was telecast on a giant screen for those not in the main worship area. The religious of all ages reverently followed the service, with Christmas carols performed by the choir. Crowds of young people remained glued to cell phones. Many wore Santa hats.

The crowds of revelers in the city led to traffic congestion in many areas over the weekend. Starting from 6 p.m. Saturday afternoon, the Shennan Thoroughfare began filling with cars. At 10:30 p.m. Saturday night, a car ride from Happy Valley to the China Folk Culture Villages took 40 minutes. Similarly, a long queue of people waited at the metro station in Huaqiangbei on Saturday night, where it took 30 minutes to buy a ticket.

Thousands of policemen were deployed over the past two days, guiding traffic and protecting the city's public areas, according to a spokesman of Shenzhen police yesterday.

Editor: Yan