The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) officially opened to traffic on Wednesday as passengers crowded departure halls.
One day after President Xi Jinping announced its opening at a ceremony held in Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province, the bridge's ports in three different administrative regions started serving travelers around-the-clock, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
As the first batch of cross-boundary vehicles on Wednesday left the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities to drive on the 55-km-long bridge, the Macao border zone, covering an area of 71.6 hectares, officially opened at 9:00 a.m.
The passengers went to the departure hall and passed through the boundary checkpoints via automatic or manned channels. They bought tickets for shuttle buses from Macao to Hong Kong, with cash or by Alipay.
To ensure faster boundary crossings for passengers, the Macao and Zhuhai ports jointly use a one-off immigration clearance model, which allows travelers to queue up only once to finish both exit and entry procedures of the two cities in about 30 seconds.
The main section of the world's longest sea-crossing bridge includes 23 kilometers of bridges, a 6.7-km-long undersea tunnel, and two artificial islands.
A passenger poses in front of a shuttle bus, adorned with a banner indicating the first shuttle to cross the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, after arriving at the Passenger Clearance Building in Macao, October 24, 2018. /VCG Photo
HZMB cuts travel time between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) and Zhuhai City from three hours to just 30 minutes, further integrating the cities in the Pearl River Delta.
It will also help improve personnel and trade exchanges between Hong Kong SAR, Guangdong Province, and Macao SAR, benefit the development of the area and enhance the comprehensive competitiveness of the Greater Bay Area and the Pearl River Delta.
Read More:
Infographic: All you need to know about the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge
Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge: A megaproject full of Chinese wisdom