Over 1,000 reservations for new cross-border scheme allowing cars from Guangdong to drive into Hong Kong

2026-01-25 - 21:07

Hong Kong authorities have received over 1,000 reservations during the first month of a new cross-border travel scheme allowing cars from Guangdong province to drive to the city. A mainland Chinese car arrives in Hong Kong on the first day of implementation of the Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles scheme on December 23, 2025. Photo: GovHK. Mable Chan, the transport minister, said in a ceremony on Friday that authorities received over 2,500 applications for the Southbound Travel Scheme over the past one month. Among them, around 1,000 have already made reservations for coming to the city, although it is unclear how many vehicles have made the trip to date. The Southbound Travel Scheme, launched late last December, allows eligible vehicles from Guangdong province to drive into Hong Kong’s urban areas via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB). The vehicles, which must be insured and have undergone inspections in mainland China, can remain in Hong Kong for up to three days at a time. Under the scheme, applicants that have received permits to drive to Hong Kong must make reservations on the Transport Department’s website on when they plan to come. Vehicles in Hong Kong. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. The scheme has a quota of 100 vehicles a day. Reservations open for the next month on the 10th of every month. Chan said that it was encouraging that the scheme has been smoothly implemented over the past month, Ming Pao reported. Since the roll-out, the cross-border driving scheme has sparked controversy online as vehicle and driving rules in Hong Kong differ from those in mainland China. A week after the scheme came into effect, netizens pointed out that some mainland Chinese vehicles – recognisable by licence plates that begin with “FT” – had darker-tinted windows, which are banned under Hong Kong laws. In response, lawmaker Chan Siu-hung urged the Hong Kong government to review laws banning darker-tinted car windows. Separately, a video on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu showed a motorist driving hands-free as the Guangdong vehicle changed lanes. The Transport Department said at the time that it was investigating an incident in which a driver enabled his car’s self-driving function. It said such driving systems cannot be used on Hong Kong roads, adding that it had issued a warning to the driver.