Every morning, the Zhuhai land port in South China's Guangdong Province experiences a travel rush, as many Chinese mainland tourists cross the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge en route to Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

Mainland tourists can conveniently choose public buses from the port, which depart roughly every five minutes.

Meanwhile, weekend and holiday trips to the mainland have become popular among residents in Hong Kong and Macao. Some choose to visit Guangdong regularly to savor delicious cuisine, while others have purchased homes in the mainland and commute to work in Hong Kong.

Yang Junyun, a Hong Kong resident, goes to the mainland for car-wrapping services. "I typically come here to get my car wrapped," he said. "It's cost-effective and efficient."

Located in the Lingdingyang waters of the Pearl River Estuary, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge connects Hong Kong's Lantau Island to Zhuhai on the southern coast of Guangdong Province and to the popular tourist destination of Macao.

Since opening to traffic in 2018, residents from Hong Kong and Macao have made 19.8 million trips to the mainland through the port, comprising 55 percent of the total, official data shows. In August 2023, the number reached 1 million, 2.2 times higher than the same period in 2019.

Currently, the bridge handles an average of 50,000 inbound and outbound passengers daily. Pan Yanqian, vice president of the Zhuhai Tourism Association, said that the bridge attracts not only mainland residents to visit Hong Kong and Macao.

"As tourism companies in Zhuhai foster strong partnerships with travel agencies, organizations, and businesses in Hong Kong, more Hong Kong residents are choosing weekends and public holidays to explore western Guangdong via the bridge."

Smoother and quicker travel

In recent years, the number of vehicles traveling through the highway port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge has significantly increased, especially after the implementation of northbound travel schemes for vehicles from Macao and Hong Kong.

Starting in December 2022, eligible vehicle owners from Macao can enter Guangdong through the bridge after securing clearance through appointments, as the "Northbound Travel for Macao Vehicles" scheme was implemented.

Seven months later, a similar scheme called "Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles" was launched, allowing eligible Hong Kong private car owners to travel between Hong Kong and Guangdong Province via the bridge without the need for regular quotas.

Since its application window opened on June 1, this scheme has garnered great popularity, with over 4,000 applications received by late June, according to the Transport and Logistics Bureau of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

At present, the bridge port uses a "one-stop" system checkpoint, enabling the inspection and clearance process for vehicles without any issues to be completed in just 20 seconds.

To enhance customs clearance efficiency, the port has implemented a "joint inspection and one-time release" customs clearance procedure, allowing luggage items to be inspected only once.

This streamlined process is made possible by sharing images between customs inspection and port security inspection. The integration of these two checkpoints has reduced the waiting time for passengers' exit inspection by 50 percent.

Enhanced connectivity and integrated development

The efficient customs clearance procedures have played a critical role in bolstering the logistics sector, streamlining the transportation of diverse items such as aquatic products.

"We start fishing at four or five o'clock in the afternoon and load our trucks for customs clearance in the early morning, and usually they can reach Hong Kong by two or three o'clock the following morning," said Weng Xipeng, general manager of Zhuhai Haimiao Aquatic Products Import and Export Co.

"Transportation efficiency has significantly enhanced, leading to increased freshness in aquatic products, a development warmly embraced by the people of Hong Kong," he said. "Previously, all agricultural products from the west of Zhuhai had to go through customs via the Humen Bridge to Shenzhen, which takes 6 to 7 hours. Now, by transporting goods across the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, we can save about 1,500 yuan ($205) per trip."

From January to August this year, the value of aquatic products exported to Hong Kong through the bridge reached 2.46 billion yuan, marking a year-on-year increase of 30.6 percent, data from General Administration of Customs shows. 

Currently, the Zhuhai land port serves as the primary departure point for essential materials to residents of Hong Kong originating from the western bank of the Pearl River. A wide variety of fresh mainland food items, like fruits, vegetables, fresh aquatic products, frozen and chilled poultry, eggs, and milk, can be transported to Hong Kong via the bridge during specific time periods.

Also, large-scale infrastructure project equipment destined for Hong Kong is consistently being transported through this bridge, contributing to the construction industries in Hong Kong and Macao.

"We have many construction projects in Hong Kong, and the bridge helps a lot in facilitating the smooth advancement of our construction work," said Zhu Minfeng, chairman of Far East Facade, a facade company under the China State Construction Development Holdings Limited. "The items we require in the morning can now be promptly delivered to us in the afternoon." 

As of October this year, the total value of imported and exported goods passing through the Zhuhai land port has surpassed 700 billion yuan, official data shows. Currently, the dispatch and reception areas for import and export goods at the port cover 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities on the Chinese mainland, involving trade with 239 countries and regions worldwide.