Vast and desolate, thousands of ships competing. At the entrance of the the Pearl River to the sea, another important aspect of water transportation was added: on November 28, the new Zhongshan Passenger Transport Port, located at the landing point of the Shenzhen China Channel, Ma'an Island, Cuiheng New District, was officially opened to navigation. This is another "artery" of the Greater Bay Area traffic built on the east and west sides of the the Pearl River Estuary after the opening of the Shenzhen China Channel in June this year. Since then, Zhongshan can reach Shekou in Shenzhen in 40 minutes, Hong Kong International Airport in 50 minutes, and Hong Kong Zhonggang City in 65 minutes. In the future, the port also plans to open the Macau Taipa route. If the Shenzhen China Channel has accelerated the "urbanization" process of Zhongshan and Shenzhen, then the new Zhongshan Passenger Transport Port opens another possibility for three-dimensional transportation across the the Pearl River Estuary. Driving towards the "1-hour circle" of the Bay Area, Zhongshan has taken another big step forward. Zhongshan Hong Kong, entering the "1-hour" era, Lingdingyang is an important trade and maritime transportation channel in southern China, as well as a maritime "highway" for the interaction of Bay Area cities and the starting point for going global. After the Zhongshan Passenger Transport Port is relocated from the Hengmen Waterway in the Torch Development Zone to Ma'andao, it will be directly integrated into the transportation system of Lingdingyang. The New Zhongshan Passenger Port, located at the eastern end of Ma'andao, is one of the transportation hubs closest to Lingdingyang in Zhongshan, only a few hundred meters away from the landing point of the Shenzhen Zhongshan Expressway. From a high altitude at the New Zhongshan Passenger Port, on clear days, one can see Nansha in Guangzhou, Qianhai in Shenzhen, Qi'ao Island in Zhuhai, and even the southernmost Hong Kong area. After the completion and opening of the New Zhongshan Passenger Port, the travel distance of each route will be shortened by about 11 nautical miles, saving about 20 minutes of time. In just 20 minutes, we have ushered in another era of waterways: the travel time to Hong Kong's Central Harbor City will be shortened to 65 minutes, and to Hong Kong Airport will be shortened to 50 minutes. The straight-line commuting time between Zhongshan and Hong Kong has entered the era of one hour. Water transportation has always been an important channel for interaction between Zhongshan and Hong Kong. In 2023, the passenger flow of the Hong Kong route at Zhongshan Passenger Transport Port will rank first in the Pearl River Delta. Since the opening of the Shenzhen China Channel, the interaction between Hong Kong, Macao, and Zhongshan has been constantly heating up. According to statistics, since the beginning of this year, the flow of inbound and outbound passengers at Zhongshan Port Passenger Transport Port has been gradually increasing. Among them, after the opening of the Shenzhen Zhongshan Channel, the number of people clearing customs during holidays such as summer and National Day has repeatedly reached new highs, with the highest daily peak exceeding 4200 people, many of whom are from Hong Kong. The opening of the New Zhongshan Passenger Port is expected to help Zhongshan cope with the peak of Hong Kong passenger flow. In addition to shortening the distance, the New Zhongshan Passenger Transport Port has also achieved comprehensive upgrades in hardware facilities and carrying capacity - it is currently the largest water transport port in the province with leading intelligent facilities and equipment for supervision and inspection. The joint inspection building has four floors, covering functions such as passenger clearance, joint inspection department and operation unit offices, duty-free shopping mall, commercial facilities, etc. The total construction area exceeds 99000 square meters, including 65000 square meters above ground and 34000 square meters underground. The port is also equipped with five access corridors, an underground basement garage, and 688 underground parking spaces. The front wharf has a coastline of 400 meters and 12 500GT berths, including 6 berths for the Hong Kong Macau line, 4 berths for the domestic line, and 2 maintenance berths. It also has 16 passenger entry and exit channels, with a designed throughput capacity of up to 2.77 million people per year and a maximum daily capacity of over 7500 people. In addition to hardware facilities, the New Zhongshan Passenger Transport Port is also at the forefront of the province in terms of software support - the port's entry and exit halls are equipped with 8 fast inspection channels and 8 manual inspection channels, and special channels are specially set up, equipped with the most advanced and intelligent inspection equipment in the country, greatly reducing passenger inspection and waiting time. The customs health and quarantine channel has been increased from 4 in and 4 out to 10 in and 10 out. While achieving seamless temperature measurement, the internationally leading panoramic radioactive material image positioning system enables one-stop completion of temperature measurement, nuclear radiation monitoring, health declaration and other steps. In addition, passengers can also enjoy visa on arrival, Hong Kong airport check-in, currency exchange and other services at the New Zhongshan Passenger Transport Port. During the customs clearance process, the New Zhongshan Passenger Transport Port will provide passengers with a 'no impact experience'. From hardware to software, waterway passenger transportation has been comprehensively upgraded and accelerated. Linking sea, land, air, and rail, the port is not just a "port". Although it is a water transportation port, the New Zhongshan Passenger Port is a comprehensive transportation hub - from a high altitude, the two aprons on the top right side of the New Zhongshan Passenger Port are particularly prominent. The "Action Plan for High Quality Development of Low altitude Economy in Zhongshan City (2024-2027)" issued and implemented in July this year pointed out that it supports the pilot opening of low altitude airspace in Zhongshan Cuiheng New Area, explores the development of low altitude flight sightseeing tourism business covering Hong Kong and Macao in coordination with them, and studies and explores cross-border helicopter services connecting with Hong Kong and Macao. In the future, the new Zhongshan Passenger Port with software and hardware conditions will become an important carrier for low altitude flights between Zhongshan, Hong Kong, Macao, and surrounding cities, forming a new type of bay area hub that integrates water, land, and air transportation functions. In terms of land transportation, the routes and strength around the New Zhongshan Passenger Port are also constantly increasing. In March 2023, the construction of the South China Intercity Railway connecting Ma'andao to Zhongshan will begin. This is the first intercity railway line that Zhongshan participated in the construction of, running through the central urban area. After completion, the South China Intercity Railway will be connected to Guangzhou Metro Line 18 for operation. Passengers do not need to transfer, they can go directly from the central city of Zhongshan (Qijiang New Town) to the central city of Guangzhou (the Pearl River New Town) in about 45 minutes. The line also reserves the connection conditions for extending to Zhuhai and the planned Shenzhen South Middle Intercity in Ma'an Island to open up the rail transit network on both sides of the Pearl River estuary. According to public reports, the location of the Ma'andao Line station in Cuiheng New District has been basically stable, and two underground stations, Cuiheng New District Station and Passenger Port Station, have been newly built. In addition, cross city public transportation between Shenzhen and Zhongshan has been opened simultaneously with the Shenzhen Zhongshan Expressway in June this year. There is a "Zhongshan International Talent Port" station located on Ma'andao Island. According to the plan, after the completion of the new Zhongshan Passenger Transport Port, the Shenzhen Zhongshan intercity bus station on Ma'andao Island will be optimized and adjusted to bring convenient commuting options for the port. With the new Zhongshan Passenger Transport Port as the distribution center, tourists can get a variety of transportation options, such as water passenger transport, rail transit, high-speed highways, low altitude flights, and travel quickly and conveniently between the east and west sides of the the Pearl River Estuary. The comprehensive upgrade of the New Zhongshan Passenger Port is a microcosm of Zhongshan's transportation expansion towards the bay. From 2022 to 2023, Zhongshan City's highway and waterway fixed assets investment ranked among the top three in the province. It is expected that by 2025, the mileage of Zhongshan Expressway will reach 333 kilometers, and the density of expressways will leap to the second place in the province. Nowadays, all highway intersections in Zhongshan City can access the Shenzhen Zhongshan Expressway within 30 minutes. The Shenjiang Railway, which connects five cities including Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, and Jiangmen, is being promoted. After completion and opening, it will be connected to the Guangzhou Shenzhen Hong Kong High Speed Railway and linked to Hong Kong. The three-dimensional transportation network of sea, land, air, and rail will further promote Zhongshan to become a new transportation hub in the bay area. "Sewing up" the the Pearl River Estuary, the "one city" in the bay area has built a commuter circle of "half an hour deep and half an hour in the bay area" with the help of the constantly improved water, land and air transportation network. Zhongshan has also gradually integrated into the "same city circle" of the bay area and the "golden inner bay", and the interaction space with surrounding cities has also been further expanded. The New Zhongshan Passenger Transport Port is also exploring new linkage models. In addition to opening routes to Shenzhen and Hong Kong, the new Zhongshan Passenger Port will plan to open routes such as the Taipa route in Macau, island tours in Zhuhai, and water sightseeing. The interconnected regions and business formats will be more diverse. On the eve of the opening of the Shenzhen Zhongshan Expressway in June this year, Shenzhen Qianhai Cooperation Zone, Bao'an District, Dongguan Binhai Bay New Area, and Zhongshan Cuiheng New Area jointly signed an agreement on party building and joint construction along the Shenzhen Zhongshan Expressway. The agreement focuses on party building, talent, industry, investment promotion, and services, and establishes cooperation mechanisms such as joint council consultation, rotation of party building talent activities, regional policy coordination, and data and information exchange. In addition, Cuiheng New District and Bao'an District signed a framework agreement for high-quality integrated development between the two areas last year, focusing on deep cooperation in areas such as industrial cooperation, transportation facilities, technological innovation, public services, and planning coordination. At present, Cuiheng New Area and Shenzhen have achieved more than 230 "cross city office" projects, and cross the Pearl River Estuary cooperation industrial platforms such as Shenzhen China Economic Cooperation Zone are under construction. Cuiheng New District and Bao'an District are working together to create a world-class tourist destination in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area. In terms of linkage with Hong Kong, even before the completion of the new Zhongshan Passenger Port, Zhongshan and Hong Kong began to explore deeper cooperation and plan to build a high-quality development demonstration zone in Zhongshan, Hong Kong. At present, over 40 entrepreneurship incubation bases and Hong Kong and Macao innovation and entrepreneurship bases have been built in Zhongshan city. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Zhongshan City have signed a cooperation agreement to jointly establish the Zhongshan Institute of Technology Innovation at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The models of "Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation+Zhongshan Manufacturing", "Hong Kong Youth+Zhongshan Entrepreneurship", and "Hong Kong Talents+Zhongshan Life" are taking root and bearing fruit in Zhongshan. Departing from Zhongshan, driving into the Bay Area for one hour and heading towards the new future. When the the Pearl River Estuary is further "stitched" by large traffic such as Shenzhen China Channel, Nanzhong Intercity and New Zhongshan Passenger Transport Port, the Great Bay Area has gradually become "a city". (New Society)