More automation soon at bustling Gongbei Checkpoint

Gongbei Checkpoint, located at the southern end of Zhuhai as the main portal of the Chinese Mainland to Macao, will put another 50 self-service border-crossing lanes into use at two exit and two entry buildings in late June or early July, extending the number to 194, which is 16.6 percent of the country's total.  

This requirement by the State Immigration Administration will help shorten customs clearances to within 30 minutes and make border-crossings at land, sea, and air entry-exit ports more efficient across China.

There are now four times as many self-service inspection channels at Gongbei than staffed counters. The lanes, which handle a passenger every eight seconds -- half of the time otherwise required -- will allow about 80 percent of travelers to use the service.

Two shifts are working to complete construction as soon as possible. In the interim, temporary staffed inspection counters are available, while new exit-entry buildings will prolong service hours and open their second floors during peak periods.

Meanwhile, the checkpoint has specialized channels for foreigners and clearer signals in case some passengers wait in the wrong queue. Lines have been drawn on the ground, and once the tail end of a queue exceeds the line, additional inspection channels will open.

According to the Zhuhai General Station of Exit-Entry Frontier Inspection, nearly 1.2 million people passed through the checkpoint smoothly during the June 16-18 Dragon Boat Festival holiday. All border control lanes were open to ensure waits of no more than 30 minutes for border crossing.