Zhuhai Port of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge sets one-day traffic record

The daily traffic flow for the Zhuhai Port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge reached a milestone on Monday, as the number of vehicles crossing the boundary exceeded 16,000, setting a new record, China Media Group reported on Tuesday. 

The traffic peak was primarily due to the public holidays in Hong Kong and Macao. From Saturday to Monday, Zhuhai Port recorded 308,000 passenger trips with 45,500 vehicles inspected at the port. 

Among the inspected vehicles, 29,000 - or 64 percent - were Hong Kong and Macao single-plate vehicles.

The surge reflected the deepening of consumer integration in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), as convenient customs clearance mechanisms have helped boost tourism in the area, Jiang Yiyi, a deputy head of the School of Leisure Sports and Tourism at Beijing Sport University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

With the rapid development and increasing diversification of the tourism industry in the Chinese mainland, traveling north has attracted more and more tourists from the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions. 

Coupled with targeted promotions in South China's Guangdong Province, more tourists from the two regions are expected to visit the mainland for various purposes, including vacations, Jiang said.

As the only entry port for northbound travel from the two regions, Zhuhai Port has seen rising numbers of Hong Kong and Macao single-plate vehicles passing through, resulting a new record for the highest traffic flow for the 19th time this year.

As of Monday, the number of Hong Kong and Macao single-plate vehicles crossing the Zhuhai Port had reached 169,000 in December, up 12.6 percent from the previous month. The daily trips made through the port exceeded 6,700, or 55.8 percent of the port's daily traffic flow.

Hong Kong single-plate vehicles have contributed the most to the bridge's rising traffic volume, with monthly growth exceeding 24.8 percent and the highest daily traffic volume of 5,400 trips. 

More than 35,400 Hong Kong single-plate vehicles are registered at the port, 1.3 times as many as Macao single-plate vehicles.

Driven by the northbound travel policies for Hong Kong and Macao, traffic flows at the Zhuhai Port have grown. The boundary control point has inspected more than 15.8 million passengers so far this year, up 1.25 times from the same period in 2019, and more than 3.17 million vehicles, up 3.75 times.

The boundary control station of the Zhuhai Port has implemented new measures to cope with the growing traffic. On Saturday, the port launched a mobile inspection mode and reduced the average peak-period waiting time by 20-30 percent.

The growing traffic flows are showcasing a better integration of the GBA. For Hong Kong residents, going north has become a popular trend during the holiday season. More than 830,000 Hong Kong residents traveled north during the Christmas holidays, Sing Tao Daily reported.