The first day of China’s three-day Dragon Boat Festival public holiday (June 19-21) produced the busiest 24-hour period in the history of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB) Zhuhai highway port. According to figures released by the HZMB border-inspection station, more than 101,000 passengers and 19,000 vehicles cleared immigration at the Zhuhai side on 19 June, with a further uptick expected on the actual festival day, 20 June. The surge was driven by large numbers of Hong Kong and Macao residents “north-bound” for short leisure breaks in Guangdong, attracted by Dragon-Boat races, cultural fairs and duty-free shopping in the Greater Bay Area. Since the lifting of all pandemic-era health controls and the expansion of Guangdong’s *“港车北上 / 澳车北上”* (Hong-/Macao-registered cars allowed to self-drive into the mainland) scheme, private vehicles have displaced shuttle buses as the dominant transport mode. On 19 June, 13,000 qualifying private cars crossed the bridge, 70 % of them bearing Hong Kong plates. Border officials said they operated every inspection booth at peak periods and deployed mobile e-gates to keep average clearance times below ten minutes. For corporate mobility managers the data confirm a rapid normalisation of cross-border commuting patterns in the Greater Bay Area (GBA). Business travellers shuttling between Hong Kong’s financial services hub and factories or R&D centres in Zhuhai, Zhongshan and Guangzhou should nonetheless build in extra buffer time between 08:00-12:00 and 22:00-01:00 during mainland and Hong Kong public holidays when private-car lanes become congested. Employers are also reminded that non-resident drivers must hold a PRC driving permit converted from their Hong Kong / Macao licence.
Whether it’s securing a China business visa for a quick strategy session in Guangzhou or arranging the paperwork needed to convert a Hong Kong or Macao driver’s licence, VisaHQ can streamline the process. Their online platform — complete with real-time tracking and clear checklists — is accessible at https://www.visahq.com/china/ and helps travellers avoid last-minute surprises when planning GBA trips.
Looking ahead, inspectors predict the HZMB highway port will handle more than 12.2 million passenger movements over the summer, up 18 % year-on-year, and are piloting advance reservation slots for commercial vans to smooth cargo flows. Authorities in Zhuhai confirmed that a second inspection plaza, currently 70 % complete, will open before National Day to add 40 new kiosks and a dedicated e-lane for APEC Business Travel Card holders. In practical terms the record Dragon-Boat flows demonstrate that, for the GBA at least, China’s post-pandemic border reopening has fully taken hold. Companies moving talent between Hong Kong, Macao and mainland offices can again treat the corridor as a genuine “commuter belt”, but should keep holiday bottlenecks in mind when scheduling tight itineraries.
Whether it’s securing a China business visa for a quick strategy session in Guangzhou or arranging the paperwork needed to convert a Hong Kong or Macao driver’s licence, VisaHQ can streamline the process. Their online platform — complete with real-time tracking and clear checklists — is accessible at https://www.visahq.com/china/ and helps travellers avoid last-minute surprises when planning GBA trips.
Looking ahead, inspectors predict the HZMB highway port will handle more than 12.2 million passenger movements over the summer, up 18 % year-on-year, and are piloting advance reservation slots for commercial vans to smooth cargo flows. Authorities in Zhuhai confirmed that a second inspection plaza, currently 70 % complete, will open before National Day to add 40 new kiosks and a dedicated e-lane for APEC Business Travel Card holders. In practical terms the record Dragon-Boat flows demonstrate that, for the GBA at least, China’s post-pandemic border reopening has fully taken hold. Companies moving talent between Hong Kong, Macao and mainland offices can again treat the corridor as a genuine “commuter belt”, but should keep holiday bottlenecks in mind when scheduling tight itineraries.
