HK-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge benefits cross-boundary students

Since the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge in October last year, an increasing number of Hong Kong residents have chosen to live a dual-city life between Hong Kong and Zhuhai as the "one-hour living circle" in the city cluster has brought tremendous opportunities and benefits to them.

Among those commuting between the two cities are a significant number of Hong Kong children who live in Zhuhai and cross the border every day to attend school. To ease the pressure on checkpoints, a new method was introduced at the Zhuhai checkpoint of the cross-border bridge in February when the new semester started.

Every morning at around 6:50 am, when the cross-border shuttle buses carrying the students arrive at the port, students can enjoy an "on-bus check" instead of getting off and on to have their documents stamped, as those personal documents have been filed with customs in advance.

This helped cut checking time from the previous 15 minutes to only six minutes, and also reduced the potential dangers for the children, especially those of kindergarten age, as they don't have to walk through the port by themselves.

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is offering a new traffic route, which is more efficient and convenient for cross-boundary students. According to Xinhua News Agency, about 18,000 cross-boundary students have benefited from the new route.

The 55-kilometer-long bridge, the longest bridge-and-tunnel sea crossing in the world, is the first large-scale infrastructure project jointly developed by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao under the principle of "one country, two systems”.

Over the past year, the bridge has seen more than 14 million passengers as well as 1.5 million vehicles.