South China’s Hengqin Port emerges as busiest Greater Bay Area gateway

The Hengqin Port in Zhuhai City, south China’s Guangdong Province, had handled more than 100 million cross-border passenger trips since it was put into operation in August 2020, with the milestone reached by Friday afternoon, according to the Zhuhai General Station of Immigration Inspection.

The port had also processed 11.7 million inbound and outbound vehicle trips in less than six years, underscoring its emergence as one of the busiest hubs in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area city cluster in south China.

Located at the southern tip of Zhuhai and separated from Macao by a narrow stretch of water, Hengqin has become a core center for personnel exchanges, economic and trade cooperation, and livelihood integration between Guangdong and the neighboring Macao, as well as a vital gateway for the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone.

With increasingly convenient customs clearance procedures, more Macao residents are choosing to live, work and start up businesses in Hengqin, leading to a steady increase in cross-border travel.

Immigration procedures for both Zhuhai and Macao now require only a single facial recognition and fingerprint verification, cutting average clearance time to under 20 seconds.

“[The customs clearance] is incredibly fast. From queuing [at the checkpoints] to finishing [the exit-entry procedure], it feels like just ten seconds. For those of us running cross-border businesses, time means efficiency, and the changes at this port have really saved us a lot of time,” said a Macao resident surnamed Lyu.

The streamlined clearance has boosted flows of people, goods, capital and information. Daily cross-border passenger trips have risen from some 20,000 at the beginning to around 100,000 today, with annual growth in passenger flow exceeding 40 percent.

“In the first quarter of this year, the Hengqin Port processed more than 9.22 million cross-border passenger trips and over 1.08 million vehicle crossings, up 31.7 percent and 46.5 percent year on year, respectively. Both passenger and motor vehicle flows continue to grow with strong momentum,” said Zhang Xin, deputy head of the Border Inspection Division at the Hengqin Port.

Innovative household products featuring multifunctionality and cultural designs have helped exhibitors to enhance international competitiveness at the ongoing 139th China Import and Export Fair, also known as Canton Fair, in Guangzhou City, south China’s Guangdong Province.

A building material that can be used not only for wall decoration, but also as a screen after being charged with electricity, is shining at the building and furniture exhibition area of the event’s second phase, running from April 23 to 27 under the theme of “Quality Home Life.”

“It enables our building material to become smarter and more flexible. At present, the product has entered European and the U.S. markets for sale, and has been well received in the markets,” said exhibitor Feng Liangcheng, general manager of international business at Phomi Holding, developer of the building material.

Many exhibitors have shown household products that integrate traditional Chinese aesthetics and modern industrial designs, such as a set of vase-shaped multifunctional tableware inspired by ancient China’s Dunhuang culture.

“It’s very impressive. It’s something new and very interesting, innovative in some points while matching the cultural meaning of those products throughout the China history. That’s what gets me the most, I guess,” said Edoardo Orlandini, an Italian buyer.

The event also features an upgraded trade service area where 86 domestic design institutions are providing services for overseas purchasers and exhibitors, including not only industrial design, interior design and brand consulting services, but also new services like fashion design, artificial intelligence design and intangible cultural heritage design. It aims to create a platform where designers and manufacturers get in touch and closely cooperate.

The 139th Canton Fair, which opened on April 15, consists of three phases. The first phase, which concluded on April 19, was themed “advanced manufacturing,” while the third phase, which will take place from May 1 to 5, will focus on “Better Life.”