More than 10,000 Hong Kong civil servants took part in the first major stress test of passenger and vehicle flows at the rebuilt Huanggang Port on Saturday, Aug 22, 2026, in a joint drill with Shenzhen authorities ahead of the port's official opening.
The exercise marked the first live trial of the port's "collaborative inspection" automated channels for passenger clearance. Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan Kwok-ki, who inspected the drill, said the operation ran smoothly.
Chan said the opening date has yet to be set. Once both sides confirm the new crossing is ready for safe and smooth operations, the Guangdong provincial government and the HKSAR government will decide when the border control point will begin service.
According to the drill arrangements, civil servants from over 70 bureaux and departments were directed to travel to Huanggang using different modes of public transport and rehearse departure procedures. The stress test was conducted in repeated cycles, including more than 400 simulated departures using vehicles dispatched by public transport operators to replicate the movement of people and vehicles entering and leaving the facility.
For the passenger-flow test, participants departed through either the collaborative-inspection e-channels or manual counters in the departure hall using the mainland travel permits for Hong Kong and Macao residents and then returned through automated channels or manual counters at the Shenzhen side's departure hall using their Hong Kong identity cards.
The drill also included a crowd-concentrated-flow test, in which large groups were held on designated floors and then released in several batches in a short timeframe. The scenario was designed to simulate peak-hour conditions when large numbers of arriving passengers head to the public transport interchange.
Vehicle operations were tested through nearly 1,000 vehicle trips at the "joint one-stop" vehicle-lane level. Vehicles entered in batches via a new connecting road, then underwent simulated customs risk assessment at Hong Kong Customs' front kiosks, before queuing for joint one-stop inspection and clearance or being diverted to an inspection area for further checks.
Chan said passenger and vehicle movement through the port building remained orderly throughout the exercise, adding that the public transport interchange demonstrated the capacity to absorb substantial passenger flows within a short time. He called on all parties to review lessons from the drill, refine operational details, and continue working closely with Shenzhen to push ahead with pre-opening preparations.
Hong Kong's Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung, Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan Mei-po, and Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan accompanied Chan during the inspection.
Authorities have said the rebuilt port will undergo more than 100 tests and drills before opening, covering traffic flow, crowd management, and anti-terrorism measures. Earlier large-scale exercises at the Huanggang Port Hong Kong Port Area mobilized about 1,000 civil servants on Aug. 13 and 5,000 on Aug. 15.
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