SHENZHEN leads the list of five newly added cities — alongside Foshan, Dongguan, Huizhou, and Zhaoqing — now included in Guangdong Province’s scheme allowing private vehicles to drive south into Hong Kong, following an agreement between authorities on both sides. The expansion took effect yesterday.

According to a Monday statement from the Guangdong Provincial Department of Public Security, vehicles from these five cities join those from Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Jiangmen, and Zhongshan, which have been eligible since the plan launched last November.

The scheme serves as the southbound counterpart to the Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles plan, which has allowed Hong Kong private car owners to drive into Guangdong via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge since July 2023.

The southbound plan consists of two components: parking at a Hong Kong border checkpoint, and entry into Hong Kong’s urban areas.

The Hong Kong Airport Authority began accepting parking reservations at the automated car park at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Checkpoint from owners in the five newly added cities from 9 a.m. yesterday. Starting June 15, approved vehicles may drive across the bridge into the car park and connect to flights at Hong Kong International Airport.

For urban area access, owners from the five newly added cities are eligible to apply for the July quota lottery until June 20. A total of 4,600 quotas are available, with 200 applications accepted per day over 23 working days. Approved vehicles with valid reservations may enter Hong Kong’s urban areas via the bridge from July 25.

Each approved vehicle will be permitted to remain in Hong Kong for up to three days.

Guangdong and Hong Kong authorities said that the plan will be extended to all 21 prefecture-level cities across Guangdong by the first quarter of 2027.

Since the scheme began operations in late 2025, authorities have recorded steady increases in applications and travel bookings. As of the end of May 2026, around 8,400 applications for entry into Hong Kong’s urban areas had been approved, resulting in approximately 6,700 confirmed travel bookings.

(SD News)