The picture shows customers dining and taking pictures at the "Xiaogang Night" night market in Shatoujiao, Yantian, Shenzhen. Shen Jizhong

Recently, Hong Kong citizen Zhang Zhuoliang and his wife visited Zhuhai for shopping. "It's very convenient to drive on the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge, and you will be here in 50 minutes." The two drove all the way to the hotel to check in, had afternoon tea in the hotel, took the cableway to enjoy the scenery of Zhuhai, went shopping and had dinner in the mall, and enjoyed the convenient journey brought by the "Hong Kong car going north".

Like Zhang Zhuoliang and his wife, more and more Hong Kong people choose to go north for leisure consumption. According to data from the Hong Kong Immigration Department, the number of people going north will reach a new high in 2023, exceeding 53 million in the whole year.

Convenient and unobstructed

"The northward migration of Hong Kong people is not only a phased craze, but has become a normal way of life in Hong Kong." Zhang Xinyu, a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, said that many people go to the mainland even on weekdays. In particular, the number of people going north has reached new highs repeatedly due to the superposition of the long holiday effect.

In the past Easter and Tomb Sweeping Day holidays, a large number of Hong Kong people went to the mainland. More and more right-handed vehicles appear in Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Guangzhou, Foshan and other places. There are many Hong Kong and Macao single brand cars in the parking lot of the Sam's shop in Zhuhai. Each port staged a northbound tide comparable to the Spring Festival. As the only designated port for "Hong Kong vehicles going north", Zhuhai Highway Port of Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge has exceeded 10 million vehicles by 16:00 on April 27.

In the opinion of Wang Bowen, associate researcher of the Institute of Hong Kong and Macao Studies of the China Institute of Modern International Relations, the convenient transportation is an important reason for the new upsurge of Hong Kong people going north. With the opening and operation of major transportation infrastructure such as the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge and the Guangzhou Shenzhen Hong Kong High speed Railway, the "one hour life circle" of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area has basically taken shape. Specifically, Hong Kong people can choose from planes, ships, trains, buses and self driving. The "subway high-speed railway" can take Hong Kong people from West Kowloon to Futian Station and Shenzhen North Station in ten minutes.

At the same time, the continuous innovation of customs clearance policies has also provided more convenience for Hong Kong people to go north. At present, there are as many as 15 Class I ports between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and some ports have 24-hour customs clearance. The promotion and implementation of customs clearance modes such as "one place, two inspections", "cooperative inspection, and one release" have greatly improved the efficiency of customs clearance in Guangdong and Hong Kong, making the "two-way travel" of residents in both places a new normal of life.

High quality and low price

"Supermarkets in the mainland are so convenient that they are cheaper than those in Hong Kong, whether shopping or eating," said Zhang Zhuoliang, who came to Zhuhai Sam's Store. In order to cater to the consumption upsurge of Hong Kong people going north, Hong Kong travel agencies launched a single Sam shopping tour group of HK $429, and two people joined the group with a one-year Sam membership card. All kinds of food in the warehouse supermarket, including pastries and hotpot, have captured the stomach of many Hong Kong consumers because of their excellent cost performance, which has also led to a boom in reverse purchasing. In addition, hot posts such as "Sam's Sweeping Achievements" and "Consumption Strategies for Going North" often appear on Hong Kong social platforms, prompting more and more Hong Kong people to choose to go north with friends on weekends or holidays.

Mainland consumption is diversified and affordable, providing more choices for Hong Kong people. At the beginning of customs clearance, Hong Kong people went north to spend more and more money, from having a cup of milk tea for a night snack to buying necessities of life in an all-round way, to script killing, car washing, hairdressing, tooth extraction, visiting the zoo, etc. For example, it takes 5 to 6 weeks to implant a tooth in a public hospital in Hong Kong. In Shenzhen and other mainland cities, people only need to make an appointment one week in advance, and the price is only 1/3 of that of Hong Kong. As a result, a large number of Hong Kong residents visit the mainland every year.

At the same time, the launch of "Great Bay Area Account Opening Ease" and the use of Alipay and WeChat payment have greatly improved the convenience of Hong Kong people's consumption in the mainland. At present, many parking lots in Dawan District have completed the upgrading and reconstruction of the automatic identification system and intelligent payment system for port license vehicles, and the vehicles can enter and leave every second. The consumption environment of subway station reporting, Cantonese shopping and bargaining in mainland cities of the Bay Area, as well as the preferential activities and convenient measures tailored for Hong Kong people, make the travel of Hong Kong people to the north easier and more convenient.

Cross border consumption between Hong Kong and the mainland is not new, but in the past, most of the mainland tourists went south to Hong Kong to sweep goods and punch cards. Wang Bowen believes that today's Hong Kong people's travel to the north for leisure and consumption reflects the great progress made in the economic and social development of mainland cities represented by Shenzhen and Guangzhou. The high-quality and inexpensive services and products have expanded the living space for Hong Kong people, reduced consumption costs, and improved the quality of life, which has been positively praised by Hong Kong people.

Integration and promotion

Behind Hong Kong people's enthusiasm for "going north" is the continuous warming of Guangdong Hong Kong integration and development in recent years. Wang Weizhong, Governor of Guangdong Province, said that Guangdong Province will strengthen coordination and interaction with Hong Kong, strengthen cooperation in key areas, accelerate the development of new quality productivity, build a major cooperation platform, and deepen all-round integrated development. Li Jiachao, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR, said that the SAR government would continue to strengthen cooperation with the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Shenzhen Municipal Government to promote wider and deeper connectivity.

The "two-way rush" between Hong Kong and Guangdong will further promote exchanges and cooperation in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area and jointly promote prosperity and development. The relevant person in charge of Guangzhou Railway Group said that in the next few years, with the completion and opening of various railway trunk lines and intercity tracks, the "Great Bay Area on the track" will greatly speed up the internal circulation of 11 cities and drive more than 100 million tourist, business and shopping flows every year to share their benefits. Zhang Chunhui, a Hong Kong tour guide, is full of expectations for this. "Only when people move around can the economy flow and bring prosperity to the whole Greater Bay Area".

Besides Shenzhen, Guangzhou and other neighboring cities, Hong Kong people travel and shop as far as Changsha, Hangzhou, Fuzhou and other places. More and more Hong Kong car owners share their experience of driving north on social platforms, as well as their experience and strategies of consumption, tourism and entertainment in different cities in the mainland, making the upsurge of going north continue. The trend of "two-way travel" between Hong Kong and the mainland is growing.

As Li Jiachao said, consumption in the north proves that the integration of Hong Kong and the mainland is well done. In the process of integrated development, the sense of gain and happiness of residents in the two places has been constantly improved. Wang Bowen said that the warm exchanges between the two places have enhanced the affinity and cohesion between compatriots, and also helped to constantly tap and expand the potential and space for exchanges and cooperation between Hong Kong and the mainland.