Use of ferry terminal in Guangzhou heats up

Since it opened in April last year, the Pazhou ferry terminal on the south bank of the Pearl River in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, has handled more than 117,000 passenger visits.

More than 330 passengers per day on average are entering and exiting the Guangdong provincial capital through the terminal, nearly doubling the figure recorded during initial operations last year, Guangzhou Customs said in a statement on Monday.

Mei Yizhi, director of customs at the Guangzhou Convention and Exhibition Center, said the inbound and outbound passenger flow at the Pazhou terminal has achieved steady growth in the past year.

During the period of the China Import and Export Fair, which is also known as the Canton Fair, "there will be a significant peak in passenger flow," Mei said.

Relying on its advantageous location and the convenient customs clearance services associated with the Canton Fair, the Pazhou ferry terminal has gradually become an important channel for the exhibition economy connecting cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and even the world, he said.

"I arrived in Guangzhou to participate in the 135th China Import and Export Fair, and prepared to purchase Chinese mobile phone parts, automotive interior products and related products," a business representative from Europe said upon his arrival.

"The Pazhou ferry terminal is adjacent to the Canton Fair Exhibition Hall, and I can walk there in about five minutes, which is really convenient."

During the Canton Fair period, which runs to May 5, many foreign exhibitors and business representatives from Hong Kong and Guangzhou are now choosing to move in and out of the mainland through the Pazhou terminal to save travel time and costs.

Located in Guangzhou's busy Haizhu district, the terminal on the Pearl River is the only cross-border passenger transport port on the water in the downtown area of the southern metropolis. Its operation has helped boost the construction of a modern comprehensive transportation system in the Greater Bay Area, the statement said.

The Pazhou terminal now has two ferry services, one linking Pazhou to Hong Kong International Airport and the other to Tsim Sha Tsui on the Kowloon Peninsula. The journey by water takes about two hours.

The ferry service has helped accelerate the interconnection and integration of world-class city and airport clusters in the GBA.