The redeveloped Huanggang Port opened at 06:30 on Monday, streamlining cross-border passenger travel between China's Shenzhen and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The port operates under a co-location arrangement with a new "collaborative inspection and joint clearance" mode, offering round-the-clock clearance services for cross-border passengers and vehicles.
It allows travelers to complete both Hong Kong and Shenzhen immigration clearance in a single queue, a move expected to reduce the overall clearance time from around 30 minutes to approximately five minutes.
Shortly after 06:30, the first group of travelers had already cleared customs and arrived at the inspection area.
One passenger said that for people who commute between Shenzhen and Hong Kong daily, the new arrangement is the greatest convenience.
"I was a regular at the old Huanggang Port. Today I heard the new one had opened, so I came to give it a try. The whole process was very smooth. One face scan, one tap of the travel permit, and you're through. It is much more convenient than queuing twice like before. In the past it took me a long time, maybe half an hour to clear customs. Just now the whole process probably took about ten seconds. I really appreciate this new arrangement," the passenger said.
The new port also deploys a range of new technologies. Its command center uses a self-developed digital twin platform to track real-time passenger flow and vehicle movement, and automatically flag abnormalities.
"The Huanggang Port sits at the core hub of Shenzhen-Hong Kong transportation, with very heavy daily passenger and vehicle flows. Our independently developed digital twin platform connects to over 2,000 live video feeds on site. Combined with virtual modeling technology, we have built a digital twin of Huanggang Port, essentially a 1:1 online replica. During peak passenger flow, the platform will automatically generate a heat map through intelligent algorithms, which can scientifically predict future passenger flow. This helps us grasp passenger movement dynamics in advance, where crowds are concentrated and how they gather, and allows us to adjust on-site duty scheduling and post arrangements, providing more precise and efficient customs clearance for cross-border passengers," said Chen Guanwen, a police officer with the Huanggang border inspection station's port construction task force.
The port links five rail lines and five bus routes. Travelers can quickly reach Shenzhen metro stations, get to popular commercial districts in 15 minutes, and reach Huaqiangbei, Shenzhen's mega electronics marketplace, in just three metro stops.
As China's largest single port building and the world's largest land port complex, the facility covers a total floor area of 689,700 square meters and features four underground and five above-ground floors.
The original Huanggang Port, which opened in 1989, was China's first large-scale land port with 24-hour clearance. It has served hundreds of millions of travelers, with daily passenger traffic peaking at over 60,000 and daily vehicle traffic reaching around 10,000.
Reconstruction on the original site began in 2019 to meet the surging demand for cross-border passage.
Redeveloped port opens for easier cross-border travel between China's Shenzhen, Hong Kong
