South China's Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link boosts regional tourism with enhanced travel options

The operation of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link, a mega cross-sea passage in southern China, has not only made travel more convenient for local residents but has also sparked a regional tourism boom, as evidenced by the surge in summer holiday travel among different parts of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) city cluster in the vicinity.

Spanning 24 km and featuring two bridges, two artificial islands, and an underwater tunnel, the link has drastically reduced travel time between the city of Zhongshan and the technology hub of Shenzhen, which sit on opposite sides of the Pearl River Estuary leading to the South China Sea. The journey between the two destinations now takes around 30 minutes, down from two hours previously.

This enhanced connectivity has made it easier for tourists, both local and from surrounding areas, to visit the landmark Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link, spurring cultural and tourism exchanges.

One of the most popular destinations benefiting from the link is the Tourism Area of Sun Yat-sen Hometown in Zhongshan City.

By 09:00 on Tuesday, a long queue of tourists had already formed outside the entrance, with many visitors arriving by car.

Born in 1866 in Zhongshan City, Sun is known for his leading role during the 1911 Revolution, which overthrew the imperial Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and ended more than 2,000 years of feudal rule in China.

"It's convenient for us as we can make a round trip [through the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link] in a single day. It's my first time experiencing the culture of Zhongshan up close," said Mr. Wang, a tourist from Shenzhen.

In addition to self-driving tours and group visits, the Shenzhen-Zhongshan cross-city bus service has become a popular choice for travelers. "There was a large passenger flow over the weekend, with 5,800 passenger trips made from Zhongshan to Shenzhen daily, and we dispatched 60 emergency vehicles," said Huang Wujie, a transportation dispatcher with the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bus Fleet, Zhongshan Public Transport Group Co., Ltd.

Beyond land travel, sea sightseeing tours along the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link are also gaining popularity, with the newly opened cruise route seeing over 10,000 passenger trips in its first month of operation.

The four daily cruise sails are often fully booked, especially on weekends, with some tourists even boarding the ships directly from the nearby airport. The proximity of the cruise ship terminal to the airport has made it convenient for travelers, many of whom board the ship directly with their luggage. Sightseeing boat tickets are in high demand, especially on weekends.

"When it first opened, we would operate three cruise sails a day. Now, due to the extraordinary popularity of cruise service, we've increased the operation to four sails a day," said Mai Lanyan, cruise operation manager, Shenzhen Shipping Group under CITIC Urban Development and Operation.

The opening of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link has also contributed to increasing air travel options within the Greater Bay Area. Nearly 100 round-trip airport buses operate daily between Shenzhen and the cities of Zhongshan and Jiangmen, reducing travel time from over two hours to about one hour.

"It is more convenient for [us travelers from Jiangmen to Shenzhen]. In the past, we had to go to Guangzhou to take a plane, but now we can go directly to Shenzhen. It takes about an hour to travel from Jiangmen to Shenzhen," said a Jiangmen resident surnamed Wu.

The Greater Bay Area consists of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region, as well as nine cities in Guangdong Province -- Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing. China plans to vigorously develop the Greater Bay Area into a world-class bay area and a top international city cluster as an important driver for national economic growth.

South China's Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link boosts regional tourism with enhanced travel options

Long-standing challenges in Mexico's automotive industry have been exacerbated with the implementation of the U.S. tariff on imported cars, which took effect Thursday, fueling uncertainty and job losses.

Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 25 percent tariff on all imported automobiles.

Ciudad Juarez, one of Mexico's largest trade ports and a key manufacturing hub, is now facing even greater challenges as rising trade protectionism deepens existing pressures.

At a medal parts manufacturing factory that has been in operation for over 30 years, the workforce has drastically reduced from 60 workers to just 25 due to uncertainty about the future.

Even before the U.S. tariffs on imported cars took effect, mounting pressure had already begun to ripple through the industry, prompting many companies to suspend investment and procurement plans.

"Some 95 percent of the products exported from Chihuahua, where Ciudad Juarez is located, are industrial manufactured goods. We have held multiple meetings to discuss solutions. In fact, over the past year and a half, more than 55,000 factory workers here in the city have lost their jobs," said the owner of the factory.

The automotive industry is a key pillar of Mexico's economy, generating nearly 100 billion U.S. dollars in output. The auto parts assembly industry alone provides over 900,000 jobs for the country, while automotive assembly companies create 175,000 jobs.

According to statistics from the Mexican Association of Automotive Dealers (AMDA), over 40 percent of the components used by American auto manufacturers are imported from Mexico. Last year, Mexico produced four million cars, approximately three million of which were exported to the U.S.

Industry insiders indicate that due to the high degree of interdependence in the sector between the U.S. and Mexico, along with a shortage of skilled labor, the U.S. goal of bringing automotive manufacturing back to its shores through tariffs is unlikely to be realized in the short term.

Moreover, the established industrial chain in Mexico faces the risk of being disrupted, which will ultimately have repercussions on consumer spending and further exacerbate inflation in the long run.

"Young people from the U.S. are no longer willing to work in the manufacturing sector. I believe there will be no growth in the relocation of automotive parts and vehicles factories in the short term," said Guillermo Rosales Zarate, ADMA's executive president.

"Personally, I hope this avalanche of tariffs doesn't continue; otherwise, it will lead to more significant issues affecting the U.S. economy. If these tariffs remain in place long-term, it will be the American people who suffer the most," said Ricardo Ramos, a professor with the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juarez.

U.S. automotive tariffs deepen industry pressures, halt investments in Mexico