The Maritime Safety Administration of the Ministry of Transport recently released data showing that since the opening of the Shenzhen Zhongshan Channel, nearly 60000 ships have sailed through the Shenzhen Zhongshan Bridge. As the only direct highway connecting the two urban agglomerations of "Shenzhen Guanhui" on the east bank of the the Pearl River and "Zhuzhong River" on the west bank, the traffic volume of Shenzhen Middle Passage always keeps high, becoming the "new top stream of the bay area". Its opening not only realizes the "hard connectivity" between land and shipping, but also promotes the "soft connectivity" of economy and industry, pushing the integration and development of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area to a new height. Lingdingyang, where the Shenzhen China Channel is located, is an important channel for ships from Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Zhongshan and other ports to enter and exit the the Pearl River. The opening of the Shenzhen Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area further promotes the gathering of shipping elements. Previously, ships of Hong Kong and Macao nationality had to undergo multiple procedures and towing operations for maintenance in other cities in the Greater Bay Area, which was time-consuming and costly. We have implemented a convenient customs clearance mechanism at the import and export ports, allowing Hong Kong and Macao vessels to directly sail to Zhongshan for repairs. "Wang Wei, Deputy Director of the Zhongshan Port Maritime Department, introduced that Hong Kong and Macao vessels only need to hold valid ship seaworthiness certificates and meet the minimum safety personnel requirements to enter the country directly. At Zhongshan Zhiyang Shipyard, 8 Hong Kong and Macau vessels are waiting for repairs in the factory and shipyard. It's very cost-effective to ship directly from Macau for repairs now, "said Zhong Zhaolin, a Macau shipowner who is currently repairing ships in Zhongshan, saving about 100000 yuan in maintenance costs each time. The latest data from Guangdong Maritime Safety Administration shows that 31 ships of Hong Kong and Macao origin have completed repairs in Zhongshan, and it is expected that nearly 100 ships will be completed by the end of the year. Xin Jian, Director of the Ship Supervision Department of Guangdong Maritime Safety Administration, introduced that they will continue to improve the relevant work mechanism, promote the experience of Zhongshan to other cities in the Greater Bay Area, and further promote the efficient and convenient flow of ships in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area. In response to the navigation safety issues of Hong Kong and Macau ship drivers who are not familiar with mainland waterways, hydrology, and meteorology, the Guangdong Maritime Department has also provided reference route guidance services for drivers. In addition, taking advantage of the opening of the Shenzhen China Channel and the gathering of shipping elements in the Greater Bay Area, the maritime departments of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao will strengthen collaborative cooperation, explore the construction of maritime management models that are suitable for regional and shipping industry characteristics, and promote the formation of new quality productivity in the Bay Area's shipping and related industries. In the first month of the opening of the Shenzhen Zhongshan Passage, the total traffic volume exceeded 3 million trips, with a peak of 8000 trips per hour, of which buses accounted for about 93%. The tourism and catering industries in the Bay Area are most significantly affected by the opening of the Shenzhen Zhongshan Expressway. In Zhongshan City, the number of visitors to the city museum has increased significantly compared to the same period last year, and the catering industry in Nanlangyakou Village has become popular. "Depart from Shenzhen in the morning, go to Zhongshan to see a sunrise and drink morning tea, and then go to Yakou and other online red villages to punch in; eat Little pan rice rice and Shiqi Roast squab at noon; visit the Zhongshan Museum in the afternoon, visit the old city of Shiqi; after having a good meal, go home from the Shenzhen China Channel in the evening..." The travel strategies of Shenzhen people to Zhongshan have also been spread all over the Internet. In the tourist parking lot near Liang Qichao's former residence in Chakeng Village, Xinhui District, Jiangmen City, vehicles with Hong Kong license plates can be seen parked from time to time. Deng Jianbing, the director of the Liang Qichao Former Residence Memorial Hall, said that he clearly felt that there were more tourists from Shenzhen, Hong Kong and other places. In addition, the local Overseas Chinese Museum and Changdi Historical and Cultural District are also highly favored by tourists from other cities in the Greater Bay Area. According to data from the Jiangmen Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Tourism and Sports, since the opening of the Shenzhen Zhongshan Expressway, Jiangmen has received approximately 2.8776 million tourists and generated tourism revenue of 2.69 billion yuan, an increase of 53.8% and 35.1% respectively compared to the previous period. Among them, tourists from cities on the east coast who come through the Shenzhen Zhongshan Passage have contributed significantly to the increase. With the opening of the Shenzhen Zhongshan Channel, the spectacular bridge scenery has become a new "check-in point" in the Greater Bay Area, and the "check-in machine positions" on the shore of the Shenzhen Zhongshan Channel from multiple angles have been gradually discovered by everyone. On social platforms such as WeChat, Weibo, Xiaohongshu and Tiktok, "four scenes of Shenzhen China Channel are in the same frame" and "hard controlled by the beautiful sunrise of Shenzhen China Channel" have become hot topics. The Shenzhen Zhongshan Passage is not only a bridge connecting the two places, but also plays an increasingly important role in the "one hour living circle" of the Bay Area. The biggest significance is the word 'tong'. With the increasingly close geographical and spatial connections in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, in addition to the Shenzhen China Passage, infrastructure such as the Huangmaohai Cross Sea Passage and the Lion Ocean Passage are also being intensively constructed. Near the entrance and exit of the "Cuihengdong" section of the Shenzhen Zhongshan Expressway, the construction of the new Zhongshan Passenger Port is underway, and three new routes including Zhongshan to Macau Airport will be opened in the future. After the completion of the passenger port, it will only take 40 minutes to travel from Zhongshan to the Macau airport terminal. The standardization of maritime government services and the level of regional linkage integration in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area are also improving synchronously. At present, the Guangdong Maritime Department and the Hong Kong Ship Traffic Management Center are sharing data. Liu Bin, Deputy Director of the Regulations and Norms Department of Guangdong Maritime Safety Administration, stated that in the next step, the maritime management agencies of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao will continue to closely cooperate, strengthen the mutual reporting of water traffic accidents and dangerous situations, as well as illegal and irregular information of ships, accelerate the implementation of the regional ship safety inspection coordination mechanism, achieve the coordination of inspection standards for high-speed passenger ships in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, and jointly promote the improvement and efficiency of shipping logistics in the Bay Area. The opening of the Shenzhen China Channel not only improves the traffic capacity of the channel across the the Pearl River Estuary, but also speeds up the flow of economic, social and cultural factors across the the Pearl River Estuary. According to an analysis by Hong Kong News Network, the Shenzhen China Channel and the under construction Shenzhen Yangtze Railway have fundamentally changed the transportation pattern between Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. The greatest significance of the Shenzhen China Channel is the word 'connectivity'. With the continuous connection of cross sea channels represented by the Shenzhen China Channel to the east and west sides of the Greater Bay Area, the internal resources of the entire Greater Bay Area will become more balanced and will demonstrate greater development synergy in the future. (New Society)