First envisaged in the 1980s, the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge (HZMB) finally came to fruition in 2018, vastly improving connectivity between the cities in the Greater Bay Area.
Before October 2018, there were no direct roads linking Macao and Zhuhai with Hong Kong. The Humen Pearl River Bridge, a suspension bridge completed in 1997, was the only way to travel by car between these cities, making for a 200 km journey that took at least four hours.
The alternative was travelling by ferry to Zhuhai or Macao. The ferry from Hong Kong to Macao and back took around one hour — excluding time spent getting to and from the ferry terminal and going through immigration.
The opening of the HZMB was a game changer: it gave vehicles travelling from Hong Kong a way of reaching Macao in under an hour.
Hong Kong’s excellent transportation provides easy connection to cities across the GBA and our handy guide offers details to help you explore more.
Key facts: how the bridge measures up
Stretching from Hong Kong to Macao’s port and beyond to Zhuhai’s port, the HZMB ranks in the top 10 world’s longest bridges and runs for 42 km, making it the longest bridge-and-tunnel sea crossing in the world. The Zhuhai Link Road takes the HZMB’s length to a total of 55 km. To put that in perspective, it’s 20 times longer than San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.