Employees work in the Comprehensive Service Center at the revamped Huanggang Port in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, on October 11, 2026. The port will officially open on October 12, offering 24-hour clearance services for passengers and vehicles between Shenzhen and the Hong Kong region. Photo: VCG

A ceremony was held on Sunday ahead of the Monday opening of Huanggang Port between South China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Shenzhen, which will provide customs clearance for travelers and passenger vehicles round the clock and significantly cut the time for passage. 

HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu attended and addressed the ceremony, saying the redevelopment of the port is a concrete step by Hong Kong to align itself with the country's national development strategies. 

Huanggang Port, was the only major land port operating round the clock between Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Due to rising demand for border crossing, reconstruction began in 2019 upon agreement of the two localities, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Sunday. 

Lee said the reopening of Huanggang Port represents a concrete step by Hong Kong to align with national development strategies and participate more deeply in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It will significantly improve the clearance experience and efficiency, and facilitate cross-border travel and exchanges, China Media Group's media channel Radio The Greater Bay reported. 

The revamped Huanggang Port, with a total floor area of about 690,000 square meters, is the first Shenzhen-Hong Kong land crossing to adopt a "joint inspection and one-time release" system. Under the "one location, dual inspections" arrangement, travelers and vehicles line up once and undergo coordinated checks by authorities on both sides. Automated clearance can take as little as 20 seconds, while overall processing time will be cut from around 30 minutes to under five minutes, China Media Group's CNR.cn reported. 

In terms of transport connection, Huanggang Port features a vertically layered design separating pedestrian and vehicle traffic, with direct access to Shenzhen Metro Line 7 from B2 basement level. Its ground-level transport links include seven franchised bus routes, six minibus routes and five 24-hour cross-border shuttle routes serving major areas of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories, according to CNR.cn.

Huanggang Port is designed to handle 200,000 passenger crossings daily in the near term, with capacity expected to reach 300,000 at peak times in the longer term. Its opening will provide a more efficient channel for cross-border travel and trade between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, CNR.cn reported. 

According to Li Xiaobing, a Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan affairs expert from Nankai University, the new Huanggang Port meets the economic and social development needs of Hong Kong and Shenzhen while further broadening the practice of "one country, two systems." 

As Hong Kong seeks to expand its innovation and technology sector, the new Huanggang Port is expected to facilitate Hong Kong to draw on Shenzhen experience, accelerate the integration of the two cities and serve as a model for Greater Bay Area development, Li said.