On the sixth anniversary of the reopening of Wan Chai Port, the number of inbound and outbound passengers under customs supervision has exceeded 5 million

Photo by Kong Feiyang on the exterior of Wan Chai Port

On January 23rd, Zhuhai Wan Chai Port celebrated its 6th anniversary of resuming navigation. As an important waterway connecting Zhuhai and Macau, the Wan Chai Port is bustling with people early in the morning, with commuters hurrying and cross-border students traveling together.

There are many ships at Wan Chai Port, and I clear customs here every day to go to Macau. "Xiao Li, a student from Tong Shan Tang Middle School in Macau, is a frequent visitor to cross-border Zhuhai Macau customs clearance. The customs clearance is very fast now, and the duty-free shop at Wan Chai Port has just opened. We bought duty-free goods while waiting for the ship and left directly, which was a great experience, "said Mr. Chen, a Macau resident who often travels back and forth.

From the initial "rowing across the river" policy to the current high efficiency and convenience, with the increasingly close exchanges between Zhuhai and Macau, more and more passengers are choosing the Wan Chai Port. In June 1984, the State Council designated Wan Chai Port as an open port to the outside world, which was also one of the earliest two external ports established in Zhuhai. In January 2016, the port was temporarily suspended from use and resumed navigation on January 23, 2020 after reconstruction.

Since the resumption of port operations, Wan Chai Customs has continued to deepen the optimization and upgrading of its supervision mode, simplify the customs clearance process, and shorten the average clearance time for passengers by about 40%; The iterative upgrade of intelligent devices in the inspection area has achieved significant results in technological empowerment. The customs fully support the operation of duty-free shops at Wan Chai Port. By the end of 2025, the duty-free shops will open smoothly, and the customs will implement a convenient supervision plan to achieve seamless connection between duty-free shopping and customs clearance processes.

We have optimized manpower deployment to ensure efficient and smooth customs clearance at the port during peak holidays, "said Qiu Yudan, Deputy Director of the Travel Inspection Department of Wan Chai Customs. According to statistics, in the past six years, Wan Chai Customs has supervised over 5 million inbound and outbound passengers and approximately 116000 inbound and outbound transportation vehicles.

By 2025, the daily average number of passengers passing through Wan Chai Port will exceed 4000, an increase of more than 12 times compared to the initial period of reopening; The daily average number of cross-border flights has increased by nearly 70%, and the public transportation operation of "15 minute boat trips" has been achieved during peak hours. Cross border direct flights only take 5 minutes, helping to improve the quality and upgrade of the "one hour living circle" in the Greater Bay Area. (Text/Kong Feiyang, Dai Guanqi)