Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Non-Fiction 2020 | Page 42

Non-Fiction – Group 5
to its information technology infrastructure and wealth of high-end talents and services,
encourages enterprises from the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macau to conduct business
regionally and internationally. Along with its efficient transport system and world-class
infrastructure, Hong Kong is posed as an international transportation and logistics hub, and is
a shining example of a world-class city for international and regional businesses to invest in.
Macau, China’s answer to Las Vegas, with low tax rates and its free port, has flourished
into a strong economy in the Asia-Pacific region. Predominantly maintained by tourism and
gambling, these integral pillars have propelled Macau to a GDP of $55 billion US dollars in
2018, and its close relationship with the Portuguese government allow Macau to serve as an
important gateway linking Mainland China with the international market.
Shenzhen, China’s up and coming Silicon Valley, has much changed from its humble
beginnings as a fisherman’s village; to now being the tech manufacturing capital of the world
- home to some of the world’s largest and most innovative Fortune 500 and 100 companies.
Moreover, Shenzhen is the city that networks the large landmass of China with Hong Kong
and Macau, establishing it as a hub for regional businesses.
Guangzhou, the commercial hub of China, is the centre of the country’s transportation,
industrial and financial infrastructure and acts as an important trading point with Hong
Kong. With a large portion of China’s GDP from the tertiary industry, through the
Greater Bay Area, China hopes there will be an influx of skilled workers into the province,
removing China’s reliance on manufacturing and agriculture whilst transitioning to being
predominantly in the service sector. Consequently, with this inundation of attention given to
Guangzhou, there is an expectation for it to develop into a global metropolis.
With connectivity as a major focus for the Greater Bay Area, China in tandem with Hong
Kong and Macau have collaborated on several key infrastructural constructions which have
led to an ease of access between Hong Kong, Macau and the Mainland.
A clear example of this would be Hong Kong’s Section of the XRL - the Express Rail
Link, which connects Hong Kong with over 29,000 kilometres of the national high-speed
rail network. Opened in September 2018, Hong Kong’s Section of the XRL provides direct
train service to 58 mainland destinations, in addition to greatly shortening the travelling time
between Hong Kong and Shenzhen (around 18 minutes), Guangzhou (around 46 minutes)
and other cities in the Pearl River Delta. And as of June 2019, the average daily patronage
of the XRL was over 54,000 passengers during weekdays and over 56,000 passengers during
weekends; firmly cementing Hong Kong’s position as a regional transport hub.
However, a more notable example of the improved inter-regional infrastructure would
be the HZMB: the Hong Kong - Zhuhai - Macau Bridge. Opened in 2018, the $18.8 billion
US dollar bridge spans from the Hong Kong port to Zhuhai and Macau with a length of
41.6 kilometres. Together with the 13.4 kilometres long Zhuhai Link Road, the total length
becomes 55 kilometres, making it the longest bridge-tunnel sea crossing in the world. So, what
does this translate to in terms of travelling from Hong Kong? The bridge reduces the travelling
time between the Hong Kong International Airport and Zhuhai from 4 hours to around 45
minutes and incorporates the western side of the Pearl River Delta into a reachable three-hour
commute. Since the implementation of the HZMB, the Hong Kong government has been
discussing to gradually increase the number of cross-boundary vehicles able to use the bridge,
and thus increasing the ease of transport for local businesses and for the general public.
Along with these the following infrastructural plans have been commissioned: the
Liantang / Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point which would be the seventh land
crossing point between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, the Nansha Bridge which would serve as
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