Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge sees surging foreign passengers

This aerial photo taken on Dec. 15, 2023 shows the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge in south China. [Photo/Xinhua]

Foreign passenger traffic through the Zhuhai land port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge has skyrocketed by 70 percent year on year, with over 172,000 international passenger trips recorded across the mega bridge as of Sunday, according to official data.

The rising figures are largely attributed to China's expansion of visa-free policies, with the Zhuhai land port of the bridge serving as the only land port on the Chinese mainland offering direct road access to Hong Kong International Airport.

As of Sunday, overall passenger trips across the bridge had risen 18.9 percent year on year to exceed 10 million, reaching the milestone 25 days earlier than in 2024.

Trips made by mainland residents across the bridge rose 30.3 percent to 4.18 million, while cross-border trips through the Zhuhai land port by Hong Kong and Macao-registered vehicles jumped 32.4 percent to nearly 1.2 million so far this year, with the daily average surpassing 10,000, according to the bridge's border inspection station.

The 55-kilometer bridge links China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), the city of Zhuhai in Guangdong province, and the Macao SAR. It is the world's longest bridge-and-tunnel sea crossing.