Greater Bay Area: Comprehensive transportation network boosts connectivity

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China's Greater Bay Area is comprised of Hong Kong, Macao, and nine cities in the southern province of Guangdong. As recently as a year ago, traveling between the three regions was cumbersome and time-consuming. But thanks to the area's comprehensive transportation network, tens of thousands of people now have a much easier daily commute. CGTN's He Weiwei has more.

A modern transportation network expediting trips between cities. Every day, 90 pairs of high-speed trains run between Hong Kong and the mainland cities of Shenzhen and Guangzhou, carrying over 50 thousand people to both sides.

PASSENGER FROM SHENZHEN "It's my first choice for trips to Hong Kong. I used to take the subway to the Shenzhen border, pass the customs, then take another subway to Hong Kong's Kowloon station. It took about two hours. But now it's only 15 minutes via a direct bullet train."

Open since September 2018, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong railway link enables the latter to join the national high-speed rail network, bringing a more efficient passenger flow.

JACOB C. KAM, MANAGING DIRECTOR OPERATIONS & MAINLAND BUSINESS, MASS TRANSIT RAILWAY(MTR) "Through this link, Hong Kong is connected to a high speed railway network of up to 25 thousand kilometers. Now people from Hong Kong can reach more than 40 destinations in the Chinese mainland without interchange."

Meanwhile, another 40 thousand people are traveling every day between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao, by way of a massive bridge that opened to traffic in October 2018. The 55-kilometer long Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge is the longest cross-sea span in the world, shortening driving time between both ends from 3 hours to just 40 minutes.

PROFESSOR ZHANG GUANGNAN INST. OF GUANGDONG, HONG KONG & MACAO DEVT. STUDIES, SUN YAT-SEN UNIV. "The bridge not only facilitates cargo logistics, but also enables a quick flow of people. Now we're able to have three meals in three different cities within one day. That will boost business and tourism."

Guangdong province has 9 thousand kilometers of highways, ranking first nationwide. Officials say bringing Hong Kong and Macao into the vast transportation network requires more effort.

MA XINGRUI, GOVERNOR GUANGDONG PROVINCE "We're working on other infrastructure projects, for example, we'll complete the construction of new border checkpoints in HK and Shenzhen, and a new link for Macao and Zhuhai. We're also improving facilities at ports, railway stations and airports."

The transport integration will boost the geographic connectivity within southern China's greater bay area. HWW, CGTN, GZ.