Wang Cuilan was soaked with sweat as she made her way out of the crowded Guangzhou East Railway Station on Sunday evening.

"The train station is too crowded, and I had to wait in a long line," she told her husband who had been waiting for her in the arrival hall for some time.

Wang left for Hong Kong on Saturday with an empty wheeled tote bag and a knapsack, and they were full when she came back - with cosmetics, shampoo, clothes, milk powder, seasonings, jewels, electronics, food and other articles.