Lok Ma Chau Control Point (Chinese: 落馬洲管制站) is an immigration control point in Lok Ma Chau, Yuen Long District, New Territories, Hong Kong, which is on the border between Hong Kong and mainland China.[1] It opened in 1989 as the third road crossing between the then British dependent territory and China. It started providing 24-hour passenger clearance in January 2003, and is still the only Hong Kong control point with Shenzhen in mainland China to do so.[2] Its counterpart is the Huanggang Port in mainland China, across Sham Chun River and interconnected by the Lok Ma Chau Bridge.
| Lok Ma Chau Control Point | |
|---|---|
落馬洲管制站 | |
 Lok Ma Chau Control Point from Hong Kong side | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Border control |
| Location | Lok Ma Chau, New Territories, Hong Kong |
| Coordinates | 22°31′15″N 114°04′30″E / 22.52074°N 114.07496°E |
| Opened | 1989 |
| Management | Customs and Excise Department, Immigration Department |
| Website | |
| td.gov.hk | |
| Coordinates | 22°30′32″N 114°04′26″E / 22.509°N 114.074°E |
| Carries | Pedestrians, Vehicles, Containers, Cargo |
| Crosses | Frontier Closed Area |
| Statistics | |
| Toll | No toll |
| Location | |
 | |
| Lok Ma Chau Control Point | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 落馬洲管制站 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 落马洲管制站 | ||||||||||
| Jyutping | lok6 maa5 zau1 gun2 zai3 zaam6 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Before reaching this point, vehicles must pass through police checkpoints along San Sham Road to Lok Ma Chau Control Point. Permits must be carried in order to pass these points and to travel to the control points.
History
editLok Ma Chau Control Point was the third road crossing built between Hong Kong and Guangdong, after Man Kam To and Sha Tau Kok. It was built as part of the New Territories Circular Road project, and was intended to relieve the congested Man Kam To Control Point.[3] Construction began in December 1985.[4][5] Customs, police, and other buildings were designed by the Architectural Services Department.[4] The new crossing opened on 29 December 1989, initially only using the Eastern Bridge, providing two lanes.[6] The Western Bridge was opened to traffic on 18 October 1991, adding two more lanes.[4][7]
In October 1993, Governor Chris Patten announced a plan to open the crossing on a 24-hour basis. This was strongly supported by the territory's business community, but criticised by villagers due to increased noise and dust pollution.[8] Overnight border crossing was introduced on 4 November 1994 (i.e. after 3 November 1994).[9] The control point began providing 24-hour passenger clearance from 27 January 2003 (i.e. after 26 January 2003).[10]
Construction of a new four-lane bridge, directly to the east of the existing two bridges, was proposed by the government in early 2003 to meet increasing traffic demand.[11] Construction began in November 2003 and was completed in December 2004. The new bridge opened to traffic in January 2005.[12]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lok Ma Chau Control Point was closed between February 4, 2020, and February 6, 2023.[13][14]
Statistics
editIn 2015, Lok Ma Chau Control Point handled a total of 37 million people (including both drivers and passengers), making it the second-busiest road control point in Hong Kong, after Shenzhen Bay Control Point (which handled 41.5 million). For comparison, the nearby Lok Ma Chau Spur Line rail crossing handled 61.9 million.[15]
Public transport
editShuttle bus from Lok Ma Chau Control Point
editCross border shuttle buses between Huanggang Port in Shenzhen and San Tin Public Transport Interchange (PTI) (less than 2 km from Lok Ma Chau Control Point), stop en route at Lok Ma Chau Control Point. These shuttle buses are scheduled to run at least every 15 minutes, 365 days per year. San Tin PTI offers connecting public transport across Hong Kong mostly but not exclusively within the New Territories.
Franchised bus routes from San Tin PTI
edit- KMB 76K, 276B, N73
Green minibus routes from San Tin PTI
edit- NT 44B, 44B1, 75, 78, 79S, 605, 616S
Red minibus routes from San Tin PTI
edit- Un-numbered service to/from Kwun Tong (via Sha Tin, CUHK, Tai Po, Fanling, Sheung Shui). This infrequent service runs mostly as a night service.[16]
Non-franchised bus routes from Lok Ma Chau Control Point
edit
The non-franchised buses bypass San Tin PTI direct to their destinations.
- Kwun Tong (Lam Tin station) to Huanggang Port
- Tsuen Wan (Discovery Park) to Huanggang Port
- Jordan (Austin Road) to Huanggang Port
- Wan Chai Ferry terminal and Shun Tak Centre to Huanggang Port
- Mong Kok (Arran Street) to Huanggang Port
- Kam Sheung Road station to Huanggang Port
- NT Taxis
- Urban Taxis
References
edit- ^ Immigration Control Points Archived September 23, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Control Point Locations | Immigration Department".
- ^ Lau, Muriel (30 December 1989). "Drivers criticise Lok Ma Chau crossing". South China Morning Post. p. 3.
- ^ a b c Stoner, Tad (27 December 1989). "Lok Ma Chau border crossing to open on reduced capacity". South China Morning Post. p. 3.
- ^ https://www.legco.gov.hk/yr85-86/english/lc_sitg/hansard/h851030.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ Hong Kong 1990: Report for the year 1989. Hong Kong: Government Printer. 1990. p. 3.
- ^ "Daily Information Bulletin". Government Information Services. 17 October 1991. p. 28.
- ^ Ng, Kang-Chung (22 January 1994). "Villagers fear sleepless nights". South China Morning Post. p. 4.
- ^ Ball, Steve (4 November 1994). "24-hour border crossing begins". South China Morning Post. p. 6.
- ^ "Lok Ma Chau Control Point to provide 24-hour passenger clearance services". Hong Kong Government. 8 January 2003.
- ^ "New Lok Ma Chau - Huanggang Boundary Bridge proposed". Hong Kong Government. 11 April 2003.
- ^ "Cross Boundary Traffic". Transport and Housing Bureau. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ "2.6通關｜全面恢復內地與港澳人員往來：不設限額，撤銷核酸要求". 香港01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 2023-02-03. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
- ^ "政府宣布午夜起關閉羅湖落馬洲皇崗及港澳碼頭口岸". 香港经济日报 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 2020-02-03. Archived from the original on 2020-02-03. Retrieved 2020-02-03.
- ^ "Appendix 7 - Statistics on Passenger Traffic by Control Point". Annual Report 2015. Immigration Department.
- ^ Un-numbered red minibus between Lok Ma Chau Control Point and Kwun Tong