The view of Hong Kong Photo: VCG

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) in South China's Guangdong Province has facilitated record cross-boundary vehicle traffic as Hong Kong residents' northbound travel to the mainland is becoming trendy. 

China Media Group (CMG) reported that as of Saturday at 9 pm, the HZMB port had facilitated a total of 500,000 cross-boundary vehicles under the Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles program since it entered operation on July 1, 2023, showed increasing personnel exchanges between Hong Kong and Guangdong.

A Hong Kong resident surnamed Luo told the Global Times on Sunday that driving her private car from Hong Kong to Zhuhai was much easier than she expected. 

"I left Hong Kong at 9 am, passed customs clearance at 11 am, and even had time to have dim sum at Zhuhai in the morning," said Luo, adding that she can return to Hong Kong in one day after shopping and having a massage. 

"It costs about 5,000 yuan ($704) in total for the first year of the program, including registering a driving license, insurance and other fees," she noted, and pointed out that certain phases of the program could be further optimized such as reducing application times and fees. 

Boosted by the simplified cross-boundary process, self-driving tours to the mainland have become one of the most popular trip modes for Hong Kong residents. Since the program began, the average monthly growth of Hong Kong vehicles through Zhuhai Port reached 58.17 percent.

The average daily vehicle volume on weekends and holidays in 2024 reached 5,400. On February 13, the fourth day of the 2024 Spring Festival holidays, the daily vehicle volume reached a record of 8,300, said the report. 

According to the official website of the program, it allows eligible Hong Kong private cars to travel between Hong Kong and Guangdong without the need to obtain regular quotas to access the HZMB.

Under the program, Hong Kong residents can drive to Guangdong for business, family visits or sight-seeing on a short-term basis, which could make good use of the HZMB and promote the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the website showed. 

Global Times