Hengqin: Diverse Island Tour

Author: Gu Zelin (author of "Macao Platform")

The Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin was completed three months ago and is fulfilling its assigned mission. By 2035, it will basically achieve the moderate diversification of Macao's economy. Under the organization of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao Special Administrative Region, Macao Portuguese and English Media visited Hengqin to learn about Hengqin's development in tourism, high-tech, commerce, modern finance, cultural and creative industries, traditional Chinese medicine, technology research and development and education, etc. Progress in seven strategic areas.

A delegation of 25 Portuguese and English media representatives gathered in front of the Liaison Office of the Macao Special Administrative Region at 1:00 pm last Thursday (9th). The destination is Hengqin. On September 17 this year, Hengqin was officially named as the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Deep Cooperation Zone. Located in the south of Zhuhai City and separated from Macau by one water, it is expected to become the driving force for Macau's long-term economic development and diversified development, and it is also an important measure to fully implement the "Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Plan".

Half an hour later, the delegation took a bus to Hengqin Port, which was completed soon. The port opened to the public in August 2020, marking a new chapter in the integration of the Greater Bay Area. The Hengqin Port is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with an operating capacity of 220,000 passengers per day and 80 million passengers per year. The future goal is to connect the Macau Light Rail to Hengqin to further facilitate the flow of people.

However, the bureaucratic process remains unsatisfactory, and it takes more than an hour for all foreign journalists to pass through. This is also one of the areas of work being carried out by a law firm, which will be mentioned below.

After overcoming border restrictions, the delegation set off for the first stop of the visit: the exhibition hall of the Hengqin Deep Cooperation Zone. Here, you can find out every detail of the project - what has been done and what will happen in the future. Guided tours are aided by advanced technology to facilitate interaction with visitors.

Throughout the process, learn more about Hengqin's history and its evolution, while watching a video detailing the urban plan for Hengqin Island, which will be fully implemented by 2035.

Then, after the two-day group photo of the delegation that has become a habit, reporters and other members headed to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, a theme park that opened in 2014, reflecting Hengqin's potential to boost Macau's tourism industry. In addition to basic rides such as roller coasters and various animal shows, the park also houses the world's largest aquarium with a total water volume of 48.75 million liters.

The park manager told "Macao Platform" that the Guinness World Record allows the aquarium to have eight whale sharks, the largest of which is 8.5 meters long and weighs 5 tons. In addition to having the largest fish in the world, the aquarium houses more than 2,000 genera and 200 different species.

With so much space, an hour isn't enough time to explore everything here, but it's still worth a short stop for the penguins. The first thing worth noting is that the park creates artificial conditions that allow "snow" in the pavilion where animals are concentrated. It is possible to see emperor penguins - the largest penguins - diving to a depth of 565 meters, unmatched by other penguins of the same family. Through the glass, the manager pointed to some of the greyer and shorter penguins, and said with satisfaction and pride: "We have 11 new cubs this year".

With the spread of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, Chimelong Ocean Kingdom is also facing the difficulties of any place that makes a living from tourist traffic. At the exit, "Macao Platform" asked the staff how many people entered the park every day. He replied referring to about 3,000 people. According to the park, the venue can receive 11,000 visitors a day.

Back on the bus, the reporters look forward to their next destination... (continued)

👇This article is specially reproduced by "Plataforma", the full article is available on the following official website👇

Hengqin: A Diverse Island Tour - Plataforma Media

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