The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) marks its sixth anniversary this year, celebrating a landmark achievement in regional connectivity with record passenger and vehicle crossings.
According to data from the HZMB border inspection station, by October 22, a staggering 62.3 million passengers had crossed through Zhuhai Port, alongside more than 12.76 million vehicles.
Spanning 55 kilometers, the HZMB connects the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), Macao SAR, and the city of Zhuhai in Guangdong Province, making it the world’s longest bridge-and-tunnel sea crossing.
Since its inauguration, the bridge has become a vital corridor for residents of the three regions, offering 24-hour customs clearance and fostering seamless travel and economic exchange.
This year alone, passenger flow through the bridge reached 21.5 million by October 22, marking an 84.8% year-on-year increase and nearly doubling the figures from the same period in 2019.
\"Over the six years since its opening, the total number of Hong Kong and Macao residents entering and exiting the mainland through the bridge has exceeded 35.6 million person-times, accounting for more than 57 percent of the total,\" stated Chen Faqiu, head of the HZMB border inspection station. \"In 2024, the number of Hong Kong and Macao residents using the bridge surpassed 12.9 million, up 82.8 percent year on year, setting a new record.\"
Driving has become a preferred method for cross-border transportation, with 3.6251 million vehicles bearing Hong Kong and Macao license plates inspected by September under the \"Macao vehicles northward\" and \"Hong Kong vehicles northward\" policies introduced in 2023.
The HZMB also serves as a crucial gateway for tourists, facilitating the movement of over 330,000 foreign passengers—a 169 percent increase year-on-year—and supporting 6,052 domestic tour groups with 234,800 tourists.
In terms of cargo, the bridge port has seen a marked increase in trade, with the total value of goods imported and exported reaching 164.97 billion yuan in the first nine months of this year, up 10.4 percent year on year, contributing to the overall 942.7 billion yuan transported since 2018.
Reference(s):
Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge sees record crossing 6 years on
cgtn.com
