At around 8:00 a.m. on the 6th, the Zhuhai Highway Port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge was bustling with activity. As a traveler completed “face-swiping” customs clearance through the intelligent express channel of the border checkpoint, the total number of passengers traveling between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao via the Zhuhai Highway Port of the bridge exceeded 100 million.
Chen Faqiu, Station Master of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Border Checkpoint, has an intimate knowledge of the bridge’s customs clearance data. He sighed with emotion, “It took more than 5 years to reach the first 50 million passenger trips, while it only took 1 year and 8 months to hit the second 50 million.”
Stretching 55 kilometers in total length, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is the world’s longest cross-sea bridge. After 6 years of preparation and 9 years of construction, tens of thousands of builders overcame numerous difficulties, creating a miracle in the history of world bridge engineering. Officially opened to traffic in October 2018, the bridge shortened the driving time from Hong Kong to Zhuhai and Macao from 3 hours to approximately 45 minutes, greatly reducing the spatial-temporal distance among the three places. With the successive implementation of policies such as “Macao-registered Vehicles Traveling Northward”, “Hong Kong-registered Vehicles Traveling Northward” and “Guangdong-registered Vehicles Traveling Southward”, the bridge has witnessed the accelerated integration of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
The data reflects the strong enthusiasm of Hong Kong and Macao residents to travel to the mainland. Since the port opened, the number of Hong Kong and Macao residents entering and exiting the mainland has exceeded 58.73 million, accounting for 58.7% of the total passenger flow at the port. In 2025, the number of Hong Kong and Macao residents crossing the border reached nearly 18 million, a nearly 300% increase compared with 2019. The number of Hong Kong and Macao-registered vehicles inspected by the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Border Checkpoint has exceeded 8.4 million. Driving “northward” via the bridge has become a daily lifestyle for Hong Kong and Macao residents.
Corresponding to the “northward” trend is the surging “southward” upsurge. Since the port’s opening, the number of mainland travelers inspected by the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Border Checkpoint has exceeded 39.38 million, with over 12.57 million trips recorded in 2025 alone, hitting a record high. Recently, with the implementation of the “Guangdong-registered Vehicles Traveling Southward” policy, mainland residents can now drive to Hong Kong via the bridge. Up to now, more than 800 private cars registered in Guangdong have completed the border inspection registration for the policy.
While the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao are moving towards each other, foreign travelers are also experiencing the vibrant Greater Bay Area through this world-class bridge. As a land port directly connected to Hong Kong International Airport and a port offering 240-hour visa-free transit entry, the Zhuhai Highway Port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge operates 24 hours a day, forming a seamless connection with the 24-hour operation of Hong Kong International Airport. Coupled with the implementation of policies such as “Fly via Zhuhai and Hong Kong”, a growing number of international travelers choose to pass through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. In 2025, the number of foreign travelers inspected by the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Border Checkpoint exceeded 569,000, a year-on-year increase of over 28.7%.
“Behind the leapfrog growth in passenger and vehicle flow of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge lies the deepening economic and social integration of the Greater Bay Area. This ‘Bridge of Dream Realization, Bridge of Unity, Bridge of Confidence, Bridge of Rejuvenation’ is becoming a vivid portrayal of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao standing united, moving forward hand in hand and thriving together,” said Xie Baojian, Deputy Director of the Special Economic Zone, Hong Kong and Macao Economic Research Institute of Jinan University.
