New Huanggang border checkpoint opens with single-queue joint clearance system for HK and mainland authorities

The revamped Huanggang Port border checkpoint between Hong Kong and Shenzhen has officially opened after six years of redevelopment, featuring the first joint clearance facility allowing passengers to go through Hong Kong and mainland immigration at the same time.

The new Huanggang Port started clearance services at 6.30am on Monday. Within the first two hours, around 5,100 travellers and 953 vehicles crossed the boundary, with travellers praising the new crossing for its improved efficiency and convenience, local media reported.

Secretary for Security Chris Tang and Chief Secretary Eric Chan arrived on Monday morning to inspect the facility. Chan told reporters that travellers were satisfied with the new joint-clearance system, which he said cut e-Channel processing times to approximately 20 seconds.

‘Collaborative Inspection and Joint Clearance’

The reconstructed checkpoint adopts a new “Collaborative Inspection and Joint Clearance” model. This means passengers will only need to queue up once for document inspection and identity verification through either automated channels or at staffed counters, where Hong Kong and mainland officials will work side by side to complete both immigration procedures.

If the system’s rollout at Huanggang “goes well,” Chan said in Cantonese, authorities “will gradually extend it to other boundary control points as well.”

Shenzhen Bay Control Point, located north of the border, became the first boundary crossing to host both Hong Kong and mainland immigration in the same building when it opened in 2007. The West Kowloon high-speed rail station, opened in 2018, reversed this dynamic, with mainland immigration and police personnel operating in the station’s Mainland Port Area.

Huanggang’s “Collaborative Inspection and Joint Clearance” model further narrows the gap between the two – instead of requiring passengers to clear two lines in the same building, they only need to pass through immigration once, reducing clearance time from 30 to five minutes.

In July last year, security chief Chris Tang told lawmakers concerned about data safety that the joint-clearance “will not send Hong Kong residents’ data to mainland Chinese authorities.”

Following the opening of the new Huanggang checkpoint, passenger inspection operations ceased at the Lok Ma Chau road crossing in Yuen Long, where northbound vehicles cleared Hong Kong customs before crossing the Sam Chun River and passing mainland customs.

The nearby Lok Ma Chau Spur Line rail crossing at the terminus of the MTR’s East Rail Line will continue operating, allowing passengers to connect to the Shenzhen Metro after clearing customs at the Futian Port pedestrian border crossing.

Safeguard press freedom; keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team

Support HKFP  |  Policies & Ethics  |  Error/typo?  |  Contact  |  Newsletter  | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps

Make a one-off donation.

Irene Chan is a reporter at Hong Kong Free Press and has an interest in covering political and social change. She previously worked at Initium Media as chief editor for Hong Kong news and was a community organiser at the Society for Community Organisation serving the underprivileged. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Fudan University and a master’s degree in social work from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Irene is the recipient of two Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) awards and three honourable mentions for her investigative, feature and video reporting. She also received a Human Rights Press Award for multimedia reporting and an honourable mention for feature writing.