Tours ready for bridge opening

Ayra Wang

The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge, which will commence service on Sunday from 3pm, will shorten the trip between the two places to 30 minutes, from two hours.

The travel time from Hong Kong to Zhongshan could also be reduced from about three hours to under two hours.

The 24-kilometer link, with eight lanes for both bounds, will connect Shenzhen and Zhongshan crossing the Pearl River Delta via two bridges, two artificial islands and one undersea tunnel.

Its commission will help promote one-trip-multi-stop tours in the Greater Bay Area, according to local tourism representatives.

Travel Industry Council executive director Fanny Yeung Shuk-fan said the bridge will further make it easier for Hongkongers traveling northbound while also attracting tourists from the northern part of Guangdong to visit the city.

"People no longer need to pass through Humen Pearl River Bridge to go to Zhongshan and this will save them about 1.5 hours," Yeung said.

Hong Kong Tourism Association executive director Timothy Chui Ting-pong said there are already five tour groups involving over 200 tourists ready to travel through the link on the opening day.

Tourists will then visit the former residence of Sun Yat-sen, have lunch and finally return to Hong Kong on the same day via the bridge.

Chui expected an overwhelming response to short-haul tours from Hong Kong to Guangdong during the summer holiday, as he said the number of tourists joining such tour groups may double.

"It used to take two or even three hours to travel from Shenzhen to Zhongshan, which made it impossible to launch one-day tours from Hong Kong to other GBA cities," he said.

"Upon commission of the bridge, travel agencies can launch more and diverse tour products, expanding the tour from Shenzhen to Zhongshan, Shunde or even further places."

Joint general manager of Shum Kong Wing Lee Cross Border Bus Company, Freeman Cheung Kim-ping, said the shortened trip will allow the company to add more shifts.

Cheung said some 20 direct buses traveling between Hong Kong and Zhongshan during the July 1 holiday were fully booked and the company plans to add more.

"We plan to increase the number of direct buses traveling between the two cities from 20 to over 30 per day and a new intercity bus route will also be launched to speed up the pick-up of passengers from urban HK one week after the commission."

Cross-border coach operator Eternal East also said the bus routes to and from cities such as Xinhui, Taishan and Zhaoqing will be diverted to the new bridge, which will shorten the trip by 45 minutes to one hour compared to current routes.

The company will increase the number of buses on its Zhongshan route from 26 to 40 a day.

The toll for small passenger vehicles with nine seats or fewer will be 66 yuan (HK$70.90) per trip. It's 100 yuan for a minibus with 19 seats and 79 yuan for coaches with 20 seats or more.

Two intercity bus lines will also run via the link between Shenzhen and Zhongshan. The one-way fare for both lines is 15 to 18 yuan.

A cross-border driver said he would travel via the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge instead of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge due to a lower toll and shortened trip.

A citizen said she will explore more scenic spots in the mainland and travel to cities in the western part of Guangdong.