Summary: Hong Kong car owners drive “Northbound” has become a trend, Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao’s “one-hour living circle” has taken shape

　　China News Service, Hong Kong, February 16 (Reporter Liu Dawei) "Going north" is a hot news word after the comprehensive "customs clearance" between Hong Kong and the mainland in 2023. For Hong Kong citizens, a family’s self-driving trip north has become one of the most convenient ways to travel during this year’s Spring Festival holiday.

　　During the interview, Hong Kong car owner Shi Xiaosheng had just returned to Hong Kong after the Spring Festival holiday. For the first time this year, he used the method of "Hong Kong cars going north" to return to his hometown for the New Year.

　　“It’s much more convenient to drive back to the mainland by car than before.” Looking back on this experience, Shi Xiaosheng told reporters that before, Hong Kong residents “going north” to the mainland basically used public transportation such as trains, subways, high-speed rails, and buses. There were great limitations in time and space. Self-driving This greatly enhances your autonomy and allows you to go further.

　　On July 1, 2023, "Hong Kong Cars Going North" will be officially implemented. Since then, the number of Hong Kong private cars traveling to and from the mainland via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge has steadily increased. According to statistics, half a year after the implementation of "Hong Kong Cars Going North", the average monthly number of Hong Kong single-plate vehicles passing through customs reached 95,000, an increase of nearly 13 times compared with the first month.

　　Implementing "Hong Kong trains heading north" to better utilize the role of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is a part of "building a rapid transportation network in the Greater Bay Area" in the "Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area" (hereinafter referred to as the "Outline"). Since the outline was officially promulgated and implemented on February 18, 2019, the policy system of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has been continuously improved, the flow of various factors has become smoother, and the Greater Bay Area has shown a prosperous atmosphere.

　　According to data released by the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Border Inspection Station on February 14, after the Zhuhai Highway Port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge set a single-day record of 130,000 inbound and outbound passengers on the 12th (the third day of the Lunar New Year), the port again Ushering in a new high of passenger and vehicle traffic - the number of inbound and outbound passengers in a single day reached 144,000, and the number of inbound and outbound vehicles in a single day exceeded 18,000 for the first time, both setting new records. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge plays an increasingly important role in connecting Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao.

　　With the expansion of the living radius and the shortening of time and space distance, driving "northward" has gradually become a new way of life and leisure for Hong Kong car owners. Coupled with the interconnected Hong Kong and Shenzhen subway systems, weekend "just go" travel has gradually become normal. Strolling through the streets of Zhuhai, tasting egg tarts in Macau, admiring fireworks in Hong Kong... the "one-hour life circle" of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao is becoming a reality. In the mainland, Hong Kong tourists have also become the "new traffic king". Whether in shopping malls, farmers' wholesale markets, or tourist attractions, many Hong Kong citizens can be seen.

　　"'Hong Kong Trains Going North' marks the entry into a new era of transportation interconnection in the Greater Bay Area, promoting the circulation of consumer groups, employment and entrepreneurial groups, and also laying the foundation for accelerating connectivity of other production factors in the Greater Bay Area." Member of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Chen Peiliang said.

　　As said, as the "hard connectivity" of the Greater Bay Area's transportation and logistics networks continues to accelerate, the "soft connectivity" of rules and mechanisms is also accelerating.

　　Since the layout rules, sizes, styles, etc. of car license plates in Hong Kong and Macao are quite different from those in mainland China, "difficulty in parking" has become one of the problems faced by single-plate car owners in Hong Kong and Macao. To this end, Shenzhen has renovated many parking lots in the city to upgrade Hong Kong and Macao license plate recognition; Zhuhai has launched "Hong Kong Cars Going North" and "Macao Cars Going North" non-inductive payment parking lots to achieve "leave and go" convenience. Parking experience.

　　"During the self-driving trip north to celebrate the New Year, what impressed me most was the convenient customs clearance process and the convenient driving and parking environment in the mainland." Shi Xiaosheng added that it still takes a certain amount of time to "go north" via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, and he also hopes that " The day when "Hong Kong trains go north" will go directly to and from Shenzhen is coming soon. (over)