Customs officers conduct the clearance process as the first private car registered in Guangdong province enters the outbound lane at the Zhuhai highway port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, leaving for Hong Kong, on Saturday midnight. [Photo by Yu Bo/chinadaily.com.cn]

A private car with a license plate registered in Guangdong province entered the outbound lane of the Zhuhai highway port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge at midnight on Nov 15, marking the official implementation of the highly anticipated policy allowing Guangdong vehicles to head south to Hong Kong.

The Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles policy, issued by Guangdong's provincial department of public security, consists of two parts: a parking plan at Hong Kong border checkpoints and another plan allowing Guangdong vehicles to enter the special administrative region's urban area.

Under the policy, private car owners in Guangdong who meet the requirements can apply to travel to Hong Kong via the mega cross-sea bridge. After getting approval from authorities, they can start their southbound journey to the SAR to park in automated parking lots in the border areas beginning on Saturday and enter into the urban areas starting Dec 23.

The move follows similar policies implemented in early 2023, allowing single-license plate vehicles from Hong Kong and Macao to head north into Guangdong.

Over the past two years, Gongbei Customs in Zhuhai, Guangdong, has supervised more than 7.69 million northbound trips of single-license plate vehicles from the two special administrative regions.

The implementation of the Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles policy helps accelerate two-way connectivity and the realization of a one-hour living circle in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Customs authority said.

Customs authorities have set up five dedicated inspection lanes for each direction of entry and exit at the Zhuhai highway port.

"Once a vehicle enters the lane, the system automatically verifies and matches the registration information, greatly increasing clearance efficiency," Wang Peiyang, deputy director of the bridge Customs under Gongbei Customs, said.