Spanning the Lingdingyang and connecting Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, the "super project" Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge has been circulating recently, and it is very busy. Data released by the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Border Inspection Station of Zhuhai Border Inspection Station shows that in the first quarter of this year, the cumulative passenger flow and traffic flow entering and leaving the Zhuhai Highway Port through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge exceeded 7.5 million passengers and 1.56 million vehicles, an increase of 23% and 31% year-on-year respectively. Both data set a record high in the same period since the official opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge.

One bridge flies across three places, and the blue sea becomes a perfect path. Since the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, it has become a "golden channel" for the interconnection of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The vehicles are smooth, the goods are prosperous and the people are prosperous, and strong economic vitality is bursting out.

The "northbound" passenger flow has grown rapidly

The head of the border inspection station of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge introduced that the rapidly growing "northbound" passenger flow in Hong Kong and Macao has become the main factor driving the increase in port flow. Policies such as "Hong Kong car north" and "Hong Kong car north" are constantly being promoted, and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge has become one of the popular channels for cross-border travel for Hong Kong and Macao residents during holidays.

In the first quarter of this year, the number of Hong Kong and Macao single-licensed vehicles inspected by the border inspection station of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge reached 880,000, an increase of 34% year-on-year. This is the first time that the "Macau car to the north" and "Hong Kong car to the north" policies have exceeded 800,000 vehicles in a single quarter since the implementation of the "Macau car to the north" and "Hong Kong car to the north" policies in 2023. Driven by the "northbound" single-licensed car, the number of residents entering and leaving Hong Kong and Macao through the port has seen a rapid increase. In the first three months of this year, the border inspection department inspected more than 4.1 million residents entering and leaving Hong Kong and Macao, accounting for 54.6% of the total passenger flow at the port.

During the just-passed Qingming Festival holiday, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge entered and exited the Zhuhai Highway Port and exceeded 365,000 passengers and more than 75,000 vehicles, an increase of 34% and 39% year-on-year, setting a record high in the same period in the same period. Among them, on the last day of the holiday on April 6, the port entry and exit vehicles exceeded 26,000 for the first time, setting a record for the third time this year.

Hong Kong resident Mr. Lu drove north to "go north" during the Qingming Festival holiday. After taking his family to the Yudetang Cemetery in Guangzhou to worship his ancestors and reunite with his relatives and friends, he went to Qingyuan, northern Guangdong to experience the customs of the Zhuang and Yao people, and admire the terraced fields, shared vegetable gardens, intangible cultural heritage wall paintings, etc.

Mr. Deng, a resident of Macau, also chose to drive north and take his family of three to enter the country through the Zhuhai Highway Port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. "This time, during the Qingming Festival holiday, I took the children back to Zhongshan to worship my ancestors, and went to surrounding cities such as Guangzhou and Foshan for an outing. The experience was very good," he said.

The "going south" tourism is hot

Hong Kong and Macao residents are keen on "going north" consumption, while the mainland residents are hot at "going south" tourism is hot. As the mainland's "personal travel" cities to Hong Kong and Macao continue to expand, the "one visa, multiple tours" and "one tour per week" policy for tourism to Hong Kong and Macao has been implemented, and the "one journey, multiple stops" Greater Bay Area tourism products built around the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge are widely favored. According to statistics, in the first quarter of this year, the number of mainland tourists passing the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge with a visa to travel to Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge reached 1.5 million, an increase of 14% year-on-year.

Cho Dingbang, Director-General of the Hong Kong Tourism Promotion Association, said that rough statistics show that Hong Kong's tourism business grew by 15% to 20% during the Qingming Festival holiday, especially the increase in short-distance passengers in the Greater Bay Area.

Data shows that during this year's Qingming Festival holiday, the number of mainland tourists entering and leaving the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge with a Hong Kong-Macao tourism visa reached 49,000, an increase of 33% over the same period last year. Mr. Lin from Shandong traveled to Guangdong during the short holiday and listed the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Tour as a "must-choice project". "The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Tour is an unforgettable travel experience. It will take you to experience the shock and charm of the century-old project and feel the vigorous development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Whether it is architecture enthusiasts, technology fans or ordinary tourists, you can get a lot of touch and surprises here." He said.

Outbound travel is heating up, and inbound travel is also hot. In the first quarter of this year, the border inspection station of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge inspected more than 120,000 foreign tourists, an increase of 22% year-on-year, setting a record high, of which more than 20,000 foreign tourists were allowed to enter the country without visa, an increase of 122% year-on-year.

A relevant person in charge of the border inspection station of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge said that compared with the Qingming Festival holiday in previous years, the peak hours of passenger traffic at the Zhuhai Highway Port of the bridge this year were earlier, longer, and higher peaks.

Convenient customs clearance continues to upgrade

Faced with the growing traffic and passenger flow, the border inspection station of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge continues to promote the upgrade of port software and hardware, and promote the implementation of vehicle "one-stop" inspection system upgrade, "cargo to passenger" channel transformation, and the application of new inspection equipment, so as to continuously improve port traffic efficiency with technological empowerment.

The relevant person in charge of the border inspection station of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge introduced that in terms of passenger customs clearance inspection, the station has built and implemented a new "cooperative inspection, one-time release" customs clearance inspection model. In response to the increase in the number of elderly people and children on board, the mobile inspection model is innovatively used to effectively improve customs clearance efficiency.

The continuously optimized customs clearance policies and improved logistics infrastructure have provided unprecedented opportunities for the development of cross-border logistics and cross-border e-commerce. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is increasingly becoming a "new economic and trade channel" and a "main artery" of logistics in the Greater Bay Area, driving the rapid circulation of logistics, capital flows and information flows between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao.

Now, the cargo delivery and delivery sites for the Zhuhai Highway Port through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge cover 31 provinces, and nearly 1 million packages enter and exit the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge every day, reaching more than 230 countries and regions around the world. Zhuhai Highway Port not only undertakes cross-border direct purchase and export, general trade and export businesses, but also becomes an important portal for all categories of fresh food to supply Hong Kong and Macao.

At the same time, the linkage between the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and Hong Kong-Macao airports, surrounding ports, special supervision areas and logistics parks has become closer, and the radiation and driving effect of the bridge port continues to be strengthened. As of the end of 2024, the total import and export value of Eqiao Port exceeded 1 trillion yuan. In 2024, the cargo value of textiles and clothing, household appliances, mobile phones and electric vehicles exported by Eqiao Port increased by 51.1%, 43.3%, 34.7% and 6.6% respectively, with the "golden channel" surging vitality. (Reporter Wang Lingxi)