Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area： ＂Cross-city consumption＂ is hot

　　Xinhua News Agency, Guangzhou, August 16th (Reporter Sun Fei, Yun Lu and Liu Gang) Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is one of the regions with the highest degree of openness and the strongest economic vitality in China. Since the beginning of this year, in the face of complex and severe external challenges, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has continued the momentum of economic recovery, with more convenient transportation, booming cross-city consumption, new progress in the construction of the Humanities Bay Area, steady enhancement of its comprehensive strength, and steady progress towards the established goal of building a world-class Bay Area and a world-class urban agglomeration.

Traffic convenience "coming and going" fever

"There is a direct bus station from Shenzhen to Hong Kong near my home, which takes less than an hour to get to Disney one way." Mr. Chen, a citizen of Shenzhen, said that in early August, he took his daughter to visit Hong Kong Disneyland. "It was a great day to go back and forth."

　　At present, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area’s interconnection continues to advance, and a high-quality life circle that is livable, suitable for business and suitable for travel is taking shape, and generate has a strong synergy for coordinated development.

　　Mechanisms such as "Hong Kong cars going north" and "Australian cars going north" are helping the "exchanges" between Hong Kong, Macao and the mainland people to heat up.

　　From 00: 00 on July 1st, the "Hong Kong train going north" was officially implemented. Eligible Hong Kong motor vehicle owners can enjoy the convenience of traveling in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area after making an appointment for customs clearance in Hong Kong.

　　“‘ The Hong Kong train goes north ’ It is convenient for the family to travel. You can take your family to Zhuhai on weekends and feel different city scenery. " Mr. Zhong, a Hong Kong car owner, said that the "Hong Kong train going north" can stay in the mainland for up to 30 days at a time, which also provides favorable conditions for his consumption and investment in mainland cities in Greater Bay Area.

　　Since the implementation of the "Australian Cars Going North" earlier this year, as of August 6, the border inspection station of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge has inspected more than 550,000 single-brand vehicles in Hong Kong and Macao, of which the number of inspections in July exceeded 123,000. Statistics also show that the number of registered vehicles in Macao "going north" accounts for a quarter of private cars in Macao.

　　"One yard ride" helps to build a "one-hour quality life circle". Recently, Shenzhen shenzhen tong Co., Ltd. upgraded its cooperation with related payment companies and launched the business of "Bay Area Linkage, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Interconnection, One Code for Shenzhen-Hong Kong" in shenzhen tong. Since June this year, with the application of shenzhen tong and Alipay, you can scan the code and take the bus and subway in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and the fare will be settled at the real-time exchange rate.

　　Guo Wanda, executive vice president of China (Shenzhen) Research Institute for Comprehensive Development, said that with the more convenient transportation infrastructure, more frequent inter-regional exchanges and increasing spatial contact intensity in Greater Bay Area, the "one-hour living circle" has been accelerated.

"Cross-city consumption" is hot

According to the latest data, Guangdong’s GDP in the first half of this year exceeded 6 trillion yuan, and it continued to play the role of a major economic province. The report released by the Hong Kong SAR Government also shows that Hong Kong’s economy will continue to recover in the second quarter of 2023, driven by inbound tourism and private consumption.

In the eyes of many people in the industry, "cross-city consumption" has brought new momentum to the economy of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao.

In the first half of the year, Guangdong’s service industry achieved rapid growth, and the operation of contact aggregation services such as wholesale and retail, accommodation and catering continued to improve, with the added value of accommodation and catering increasing by 10.3% year-on-year. According to data from the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the number of visitors to Hong Kong in July this year was about 3.6 million, up 31% from the previous month. According to the data of the Macau SAR Government Tourist Office, from January to June this year, the total number of inbound tourists exceeded 11.645 million, with a daily average of more than 64,000, returning to the annual average of 59.6% in 2019.

A series of "new measures" to promote consumption play a "big role". The 2023 Nanshan District Sports Consumption Season was launched in April this year. Up to now, the amount of coupons issued has exceeded 15 million yuan. Ye Chun, deputy head of Nanshan District, Shenzhen, said that special running and swimming activities were launched in the first phase, and coupons were awarded according to different test results; Some activities are open to citizens in Hong Kong, which is convenient for Hong Kong compatriots to live and exercise in Nanshan.

"I often meet friends on weekends, go to Shenzhen for dinner, go shopping, drink milk tea, and order crayfish to take home at the port." Miss Huang, a Hong Kong citizen who lives in the New Territories, said. According to the data released by Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Statistics, the total retail sales of social consumer goods in Shenzhen reached 500.002 billion yuan in the first half of the year, up 11.5% year-on-year.

At the end of July, the four-day 2023 Guangdong-Macao Famous Commodities Exhibition was held in Macau. The total number of exhibitors increased by 20% year-on-year, and the products covered electric vehicles, smart home appliances, clothing and cultural products, science and technology products, daily necessities, jewelry and so on. About 100,000 people attended the exhibition, 338 business matches were organized, and 54 projects were signed. During the exhibition, more than 60 wonderful programs were broadcast live, covering more than 150 exhibitors and attracting more than 1.3 million people to watch.

Liang Yongsheng, economic adviser to the Hong Kong SAR Government, said that looking ahead, inbound tourism and private consumption will remain the main drivers of economic growth for the rest of this year. The number of visitors to Hong Kong should further increase as the transport capacity and reception capacity continue to recover.

"Accelerated Running" in Humanities Bay Area

Hong Kong’s creative furniture, Macao’s "New Eight Scenes" cultural and creative gadgets, and Shenzhen’s trendy technology product … … At the 19th China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industry Expo held in early June, Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao joined hands to form the "Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Pavilion", which concentrated on displaying the elegant demeanor and business opportunities of Greater Bay Area’s cultural and creative industries and showed the new progress made in the construction of the Humanities Bay Area.

　　Visit the Palace Museum in Hong Kong and listen to a concert on the waterfront of Victoria Harbour … … Traveling to Hong Kong is no longer just "buying in buy buy", and cultural depth tour is becoming a popular choice for mainland tourists.

　　"Outline of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Plan" clearly puts forward "Building Humanities Bay Area together". According to Jiang Shuzhuo, director of China Literature and Art Criticism (Jinan University) Base, "Humanities Bay Area is to build a high-quality life circle with active cultural creativity, perfect cultural industry system, high international level of cultural exchange and sufficient cultural consumption power."

　　Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has the same culture, similar popularity, similar folk customs and complementary advantages. The three places have continued to carry out exchanges and cooperation in many fields, such as culture, art and education, which has accelerated in recent years. Driven by a series of pragmatic measures, Greater Bay Area’s cultural soft power has been gradually enhanced, and the connotation of humanistic spirit has been continuously enriched.

　　Xie Baojian, a professor at the School of Economics of Jinan University and deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Economic Research Institute of the SAR, said that from hard connectivity of infrastructure, soft connectivity of the rules docking mechanism, and connectivity of people’s hearts and minds, a more convenient business environment and a better life circle are attracting "visitors from all directions" to study, work, innovate and start businesses in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, which has effectively promoted the high-quality development of Greater Bay Area.