According to data from the Zhuhai Immigration Inspection Station, as of 1 p.m. on April 24, Hengqin Port has processed more than 100 million inbound and outbound travelers and 11.7 million vehicles since its opening in August 2020. In less than six years, it has become one of the busiest cross-border gateways in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).

For Macao entrepreneur Lyu Xiaoqing, who commutes daily between Hengqin and Macao, the improvement is clear. "In the past, we had to queue twice. Now everything is done in one step," she said. The streamlined process has significantly reduced time costs for cross-border entrepreneurs and made the GBA’s "one-hour living circle" increasingly tangible.

Hengqin Port is the first in China to implement the "cooperative inspection, one-time release" model. Travelers complete facial and fingerprint verification once and, by crossing a single boundary line, finish both Macao and mainland procedures simultaneously. The average clearance time has been reduced to under 20 seconds. In November 2025, the port further upgraded to facial-recognition, contactless clearance, making the process even faster.

Efficient clearance has accelerated the flow of people, goods, capital and information across the region. Daily passenger volume has risen from about 20,000 at opening to a stable 100,000, with annual growth exceeding 40%. In 2025, annual passenger traffic surpassed 30 million for the first time, an increase of more than 275% compared with 2021. That same year, the port processed 3.5 million vehicles, two-thirds of which were Macao single-plate cars.

Tourism integration has also gained momentum. With the rollout of Hengqin–Macao tour groups, multiple-entry permits for Macao travel and 240-hour visa-free transit, cultural and tourism cooperation between the two regions has accelerated. By the end of 2025, more than 27,000 tour groups had been organized, attracting over 110,000 visitors.

Port convenience is increasingly benefiting daily life. At the vehicle inspection lanes, Hengqin–Macao cross-border school buses receive priority checks, allowing students to complete inspection without leaving the vehicle. Immigration authorities have raised the age limit for accompanying children from 10 to 14 years old. "The bus picks up at our doorstep and drops off at the school gate. My child gets an extra half hour of rest every day," said parent Mr. Hong.

As of the end of February this year, more than 30,000 Macao residents were living or working in the Guangdong–Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin. The number of Macao-funded businesses has exceeded 7,900, a year-on-year increase of 13.6%.