Passengers line up to go through customs at the Wanzai Checkpoint. [Photo/WeChat account: zhxiangzhou]

The Wanzai Checkpoint in Zhuhai recorded a cross-border cumulative visitor volume of over 600,000 in the year to date as of July 28 - overtaking the annual volume of 540,000 people for 2022 and showing a year-on-year increase during the period of about 3.5 times.

The checkpoint is one of the two earliest external checkpoints established in Zhuhai - facing the Macao Inner Harbor Ferry Terminal across the water at a distance of 300 meters.

It takes 3 to 5 minutes for passengers to travel by ferry, making it the most convenient water channel connecting Macao and Zhuhai.

Chen Ying of Wanzai Checkpoint said that since the start of the summer vacation, the travel demands of the public had expanded exponentially. He said the average daily flow of people at the Wanzai Checkpoint in July increased by about 25 percent compared with June, with a 60-percent increase in foreign tourists. 

The daily average number of tourists crossing the boundary exceeded 4,000, with the highest single-day customs clearance exceeding 6,000 in July. The main categories of people passing through the checkpoint are residents of Guangdong and Macao, those going to Macao for work, individuals engaged in small-scale trade and tourists, among others.

"It only takes five minutes to come from Macao by ferry. We bought an apartment in Wanzai at the beginning of the year and I often bring my family to stay here on weekends and holidays. It's convenient and comfortable," said a Macao resident surnamed Li.