Lok Ma Chau Control Point () is an immigration
control point in
Lok Ma Chau
Lok Ma Chau or Lokmachau is an area in New Territories, Hong Kong. It is the site of a major pedestrian (linked directly to the Hong Kong MTR) and road border Lok Ma Chau Control Point, crossing point between Hong Kong and mainland China. Ad ...
, Yuen Long District, New Territories, Hong Kong, which is on the border between Hong Kong and
mainland China
"Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...
. 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. Its counterpart is the
Huanggang Port in mainland China, across
Sham Chun River and interconnected by the .
Before reaching this point, vehicles must pass through police checkpoints along to Lok Ma Chau Control Point. Permits must be carried in order to pass these points and to travel to the control points.
History
Lok 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.
Construction began in December 1985.
Customs, police, and other buildings were designed by the
Architectural Services Department.
The new crossing opened on 29 December 1989, initially only using the Eastern Bridge, providing two lanes.
The Western Bridge was opened to traffic on 18 October 1991, adding two more lanes.
In October 1993, Governor
Chris Patten
Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes (; born 12 May 1944), is a British politician who was the Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1992, and the 28th and last Governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997. He was made a lif ...
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.
Overnight border crossing was introduced on 4 November 1994 (i.e. after 3 November 1994).
The control point began providing 24-hour passenger clearance from 27 January 2003 (i.e. after 26 January 2003).
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.
Construction began in November 2003 and was completed in December 2004. The new bridge opened to traffic in January 2005.
Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the Lok Ma Chau Control Point was closed between February 4, 2020 until February 6, 2023.
Statistics
In 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.
Public transport
Shuttle bus from Lok Ma Chau Control Point
Cross 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
*
KMB 76K, 276B, N73
Green minibus routes from San Tin PTI
*
NT 44B, 44B1, 75, 78, 79S, 605, 616S
Red minibus routes from San Tin PTI
* Un-numbered service to/from
Kwun Tong
Kwun Tong is an area in the Kwun Tong District of Hong Kong, situated at the eastern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, and its boundary stretches from Lion Rock in the north to Lei Yue Mun in the south, and from the winding paths of Kowloon P ...
(via
Sha Tin
Sha Tin, also spelt Shatin, is a neighbourhood along Shing Mun River in the eastern New Territories, Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Sha Tin District. Sha Tin is one of the neighbourhoods of the Sha Tin New Town project.
The new ...
,
CUHK,
Tai Po
Tai Po is an List of areas of Hong Kong, area in the New Territories of Hong Kong. It refers to the vicinity of the traditional market towns in the area presently known as Tai Po Old Market or Tai Po Kau Hui () (the original "Tai Po Mark ...
,
Fanling
Fanling ( zh, t=粉嶺; also spelled Fan Ling or Fan Leng) is a town in the New Territories East of Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the North District. Fanling Town is the main settlement of the Fanling area. The name Fanling is ...
,
Sheung Shui
Sheung Shui (, literally "Above-water") is an area in the New Territories, Hong Kong. Sheung Shui Town, a part of this area, is part of the Fanling–Sheung Shui New Town in the North District, Hong Kong, North District of Hong Kong. Fanli ...
). This infrequent service runs mostly as a night service.
[Un-numbered red minibus between Lok Ma Chau Control Point and Kwun Tong]
/ref>
Non-franchised bus routes from Lok Ma Chau Control Point
The non-franchised buses bypass San Tin PTI direct to their destinations.
* Kwun Tong
Kwun Tong is an area in the Kwun Tong District of Hong Kong, situated at the eastern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, and its boundary stretches from Lion Rock in the north to Lei Yue Mun in the south, and from the winding paths of Kowloon P ...
( Lam Tin station) to Huanggang Port
* Tsuen Wan
Tsuen Wan (formerly also spelled Tsun Wan) is a New towns of Hong Kong, town built on a bay in the New Territories West (constituency), western New Territories of Hong Kong, opposite Tsing Yi, Tsing Yi Island across Rambler Channel. The market ...
( Discovery Park) to Huanggang Port
* Jordan
Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
( Austin Road) to Huanggang Port
* Wan Chai Ferry terminal and Shun Tak Centre
Shun Tak Centre () is a commercial and transport complex on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. It comprises a 4-storey podium containing a shopping centre and car park, two 38-storey office towers, and the Hong ...
to Huanggang Port
* Mong Kok
Mong Kok (Chinese language, Chinese: 旺角), also spelled Mongkok, often abbreviated as MK, is an area in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The Prince Edward, Hong Kong, Prince Edward subarea occupies the northern part of Mong Kok.
As one of the major sho ...
( Arran Street) to Huanggang Port
* Kam Sheung Road station to Huanggang Port
Taxis
A taxis (; : taxes ) is the motility, movement of an organism in response to a Stimulus (physiology), stimulus such as light or the presence of food. Taxes are innate behavioural responses. A taxis differs from a tropism (turning response, often ...
* NT Taxis
* Urban Taxis
References
{{coord, 22.50944, 114.07399, display=title
Mai Po
Closed Area
Lok Ma Chau
China–Hong Kong border crossings