Cross-border chaos as children face 4-hour journey to Hong Kong schools
Jams at checkpoints on first day of term mean trip to school for some weary pupils takes 4 hours
"Will it always be like this?" sighed Sun Yuk-hom, more than an hour late for school on the first day of term yesterday after a 4-1/2-hour journey.
But despite his early start he did not reach his school in Tai Po until almost 9.30am after delays at the heavily congested Man Kam To border crossing.
"I got up so early but now I'm late," he said. "I'll wake up early every day from now."
His story was typical of many of the 16,000 pupils - 3,000 more than last year - who crossed the border to attend Hong Kong schools. Many were late because of chaos at the crossings, which were jammed with buses ferrying the children to school.
Their plight brought a call for government action to seek ways to ease the journey and reduce the stress on the children.