[ad_1]
Kenny Li is patiently waiting in front of a coaching terminus in Kowloon on a foggy and cold morning in Hong Kong.
He plans to have lunch in the Chinese city of Zhuhai, where it would take him about four hours to arrive by road. But today, the ride will only last a little over 30 minutes as it is not a normal day.
Kenny is one of many passengers – including your correspondent – lining up to sit in one of the first cross-border coaches to cross the recently opened Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.
A $ 20 billion bridge, a 55 km bridge and a 6.7 km submarine tunnel connect Lantau Island in Hong Kong to Zhuhai on the south coast of Guangdong Province. the hub of the Macau game, popular tourist site of Chinese visitors. The mega-structure is supported by three cable-stayed bridges and is designed to withstand strong winds caused by the typhoon up to 340 km at the time.
It took nearly eight years to build and, according to Beijing's ambitious plans, contribute to the creation of a high-tech and economic region, namely Greater Bay Area, rivaling the New York, San Francisco and Tokyo regions. Bay.
But these lofty goals are not at all relevant for the group of enthusiastic passengers meeting at Kowloon's bus terminal Wednesday morning. This group wants something different from the HZMB, as it became known. For just $ 120 HK (£ 11) for a one-way ticket, we can be part of the story.
Private cars can only operate on the deck with a special permit, which is neither easy nor expensive to obtain. So, taking the cross-border coach is the fastest and easiest way to become one of the first members of the public to travel on the bridge.
"I was the first person to get the ticket three days ago," says Li, as he waits patiently for the arrival of our white and green coach Chinalink.
Other passengers are also excited. YW Cheung and his wife bought the tickets Sunday, as soon as he heard about the news that the bus companies were operating the bridge service.
"I want to take the first coach to cross the bridge," he said. "We will meet friends in Zhuhai and eat with them, then we will go to Macao."
But before we can take our place in the annals of human transportation, we must make our way on the bridge. Once everyone is on board, we leave the bus station at 8:45. At 9:30, we are a little lost.
Our driver, who is also making his first trip through the structure, is struggling to find the right lane to take on the Hong Kong Harbor Bridge. The crossing is so recent that the signs have not been caught yet. The concern among the passengers increases slightly. Will Li and Cheung's lunch plans collapse?
At the end, a representative of the red-faced coach company must point out passing police officers and ask them to escort us to the right ramp. "The announcement of the opening of the bridge was sudden. We have barely had time to familiarize ourselves with the new roads, "he says.
After a quick control of the border control, our bus finally goes to the bridge. From there, the navigation is much softer. At first, the sea crossing looks like ordinary driving on a three lane highway, except that instead of being surrounded by rolling countryside, we are flanked by a vast expanse of land. water. The sea is flat without waves and the sky is foggy. The road itself is largely empty and an occasional port-to-port shuttle runs in the opposite direction.
Soon, the road descends to an artificial island where we enter a submarine tunnel 44 meters deep. After five minutes underground, we are in the open air again.
At this time, the scale of the project really hits. A boat that is the size of a toy seems to sail below us. Sometimes you can see the whole suspension bridge over the water. The sea seems endless.
The feeling of fear does not last long. A few minutes later, our trip ends abruptly. We arrive in China. The crossing took about half an hour. The dates of the lunch are recorded. There are wide smiles all around. When we enter the Zhuhai checkpoint, a sign reads "No photo". It's China after all.
The sea crossing has been controversial throughout its seven years of construction. Budget overruns ($ 7.76 to $ 12.3 billion), worker deaths and construction delays delayed the project.
In Hong Kong, it was feared that the bridge would serve – first and foremost – a political goal of bringing the land closer to its motherland at a time when politically sensitive people panicked for anything to do with integration with China. . But officials said the new link between Hong Kong, China and Macao would boost people flows, logistics, trade and money.
On the way back to Hong Kong, mainland China, Yin Qingyun, takes the coach to Hong Kong. The retired Yunnan official went to Zhuhai to witness the opening of the bridge. She said she was very moved by the fact that Hong Kong, China and Macao could finally unite "as the same family".
However, not everyone is happy. After the trip, Cheung is one of those who are not too impressed. "The trip is good," he says. "I was not too overwhelmed by the bridge, it's pretty ordinary."
