Arrival Readiness

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Landing capability

Crossing from Hong Kong to Shenzhen by land

In short

Which crossing do I use, and until when is it open?

For foot passengers, Lo Wu (to Luohu) or Lok Ma Chau Spur Line (to Futian) by rail; by bus or car, Shenzhen Bay or the Lok Ma Chau vehicle point (to Huanggang). Only 2 crossings run 24 hours — the Lok Ma Chau vehicle point and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge; the other land crossings close between 10 pm and midnight. A land crossing is 2 immigration checks — Hong Kong exit, then mainland entry — not the single arrival desk of an airport.

Back to the entry hub

Applies to

A foreign visitor based in Hong Kong who adds a Shenzhen day or leg and crosses by land — on foot by rail, by cross-boundary bus or car, or by high-speed rail from West Kowloon.

Check before you rely on it

Port hours are from the Hong Kong Immigration Department and the Shenzhen government and can change; bus timetables and fares are commercial and not published as an official rule. Confirm your crossing's hours before a late return.

Information checked:

The airport taught you a single arrival hall that is always open. A land crossing is neither: it closes overnight, and it is two immigration checks — you exit Hong Kong, then enter the mainland.

Entry hubDo visa-free and the Arrival Card apply here?
The Luohu border crossing between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

This is a full immigration crossing in both directions, not a city transfer — and unlike an airport it closes. Lo Wu on the Hong Kong side runs 6:30 am to midnight, which is the detail that turns a late plan into a stranded evening.

Photograph by Abasaa, Public domain — source and licence

Pick your port, mind its hours

The crossings, their two names, and when they close

Hong Kong-side hours from the Immigration Department; mainland-side names and hours from the Shenzhen government. Sources read 2026-08-08.

Hong Kong side (hours)Mainland side (hours)What crosses here
Lo Wu6:30 am to midnight

Source: Immigration Department, Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (immd.gov.hk), official English site — Control Point Locations (source standing directory page; read August 8, 2026)

Luohu Checkpoint6:30 am to 12:00 am

Source: Nanshan District People's Government of Shenzhen (szns.gov.cn), republishing the Shenzhen municipal English portal (eyeshenzhen.com) — Checkpoints in Shenzhen (source updated 7 November 2024; read August 8, 2026)

Foot passengers by rail — the MTR East Rail Line at Lo Wu connects to Shenzhen Metro Line 1 at Luohu. The busiest pedestrian crossing.
Lok Ma Chau Spur Line6:30 am to 10:30 pm

Source: Immigration Department, Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (immd.gov.hk), official English site — Control Point Locations (source standing directory page; read August 8, 2026)

Futian Checkpoint6:30 am to 10:30 pm

Source: Nanshan District People's Government of Shenzhen (szns.gov.cn), republishing the Shenzhen municipal English portal (eyeshenzhen.com) — Checkpoints in Shenzhen (source updated 7 November 2024; read August 8, 2026)

Foot passengers by rail — the East Rail Line spur at Lok Ma Chau connects to Futian, in central Shenzhen. Closes earlier than Lo Wu.
Lok Ma Chau (vehicle control point)24 hours

Source: Immigration Department, Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (immd.gov.hk), official English site — Control Point Locations (source standing directory page; read August 8, 2026)

Huanggang Checkpoint24 hours every day

Source: Nanshan District People's Government of Shenzhen (szns.gov.cn), republishing the Shenzhen municipal English portal (eyeshenzhen.com) — Checkpoints in Shenzhen (source updated 7 November 2024; read August 8, 2026)

Cross-boundary coaches, shuttle buses, goods vehicles and private cars. The only Hong Kong–Shenzhen land control point open 24 hours to passengers — Shenzhen Bay's round-the-clock operation is goods vehicles, not people.
Shenzhen BayPassenger clearance 6:30 am to midnight; goods vehicles 24 hours

Source: Immigration Department, Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (immd.gov.hk), official English site — Control Point Locations (source standing directory page; read August 8, 2026)

Shenzhen Bay Checkpoint6:30 am to 12:00 am

Source: Nanshan District People's Government of Shenzhen (szns.gov.cn), republishing the Shenzhen municipal English portal (eyeshenzhen.com) — Checkpoints in Shenzhen (source updated 7 November 2024; read August 8, 2026)

Buses and cars, in a single building where the Hong Kong and mainland immigration facilities are co-located — you clear both sides under one roof.
Express Rail Link West Kowloon6:30 am to 11:30 pm

Source: Immigration Department, Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (immd.gov.hk), official English site — Control Point Locations (source standing directory page; read August 8, 2026)

Mainland Port Area inside West Kowloon Stationcleared inside Hong Kong before boarding (co-location)

Source: Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (info.gov.hk), Government Information Services press release — Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (Co-location) Ordinance comes into operation (source dated 4 September 2018; read August 8, 2026)

High-speed rail to Shenzhen, Guangzhou and beyond. Mainland immigration is done inside the Hong Kong station, so you arrive already admitted — see the note below.

Hong Kong Immigration Department · read October 6, 2026

Every Hong Kong control point to Shenzhen, as the department publishes it

The hours below are quoted from the Immigration Department’s control-point directory, which dates itself Last Update: 26-06-2026. Three of these crossings are not in the table above — and one of them is closed. These are the Hong Kong half of each crossing; Shenzhen’s own published hours were not found on an official page this pass.

Service hours as published, quoted from the directory
Control pointPublished service hoursWhat that means for youRead
Lo WuMainland side: Luohu CheckpointCloses overnight6:30 am to midnightThe busiest pedestrian crossing shuts at midnight. Unchanged from the August 2026 read, which is itself worth knowing — this is the number competitors restate without a date.
Lok Ma Chau Spur LineMainland side: Futian CheckpointCloses overnight6:30 am to 10:30 pmThe rail crossing into central Shenzhen closes 90 minutes before Lo Wu. This is the single most useful hour on the page and the one an evening traveller gets wrong.
Lok Ma Chau (vehicle control point)Mainland side: Huanggang CheckpointOpen 24 hours24 hoursOn today's directory this is the only Hong Kong–Shenzhen land control point open 24 hours to passengers. If you will be crossing after midnight, this is the crossing.
Man Kam ToMainland side: Wenjindu (文锦渡)Closes overnight · new to this page7:00 am to 10:00 pmNew to this page. Man Kam To has the earliest closing time of any Hong Kong–Shenzhen land crossing, and it opens half an hour later than the rail ports.
Heung Yuen WaiMainland side: Liantang (莲塘)Closes overnight · new to this page7:00 am to 10:00 pmNew to this page. The newest of the Hong Kong–Shenzhen land crossings, and it closes at 10 pm — the same early window as Man Kam To, not the midnight one of Lo Wu.
Sha Tau KokClearance suspended · new to this pageClearance services have been suspended until further noticeNew to this page, and a hard negative. Sha Tau Kok appears on maps and in guidebooks as a Hong Kong–Shenzhen land crossing; the department states clearance there is suspended. Being told not to go is as useful as an opening time.
Shenzhen BayMainland side: Shenzhen Bay CheckpointCloses overnightPassenger services: 6:30 am to midnight; Goods vehicles: 24 hoursRead the two halves separately. The 24-hour part of Shenzhen Bay is goods vehicles; a passenger cannot cross here after midnight. Pages that print a flat 24 hours for Shenzhen Bay have collapsed the department's two lines into one.
Express Rail Link West KowloonMainland side: Mainland Port Area inside West Kowloon StationCloses overnight6:30 am to 11:30 pmThe co-location station, where mainland clearance happens inside Hong Kong. The last high-speed trains are timed to this window; miss it and you fall back to a road or rail crossing.
Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao BridgeOpen 24 hours24 hoursNot a Shenzhen crossing — it lands in Zhuhai — but it is the other 24-hour land option on the directory, and the one to know about if the Shenzhen ports have closed for the night.
Huanggang is being rebuilt — what the two governments state, clause by clause
What it means for youWhat the publisher statesWhere it is published
The Hong Kong port area inside Huanggang has existed in law since 31 July 2026The Security Bureau states the commissioning date outright. From midnight on 31 July 2026 there is a Hong Kong Port Area inside the Huanggang port, under Hong Kong jurisdiction. That is a legal fact about the site, not an announcement that you can walk through it.
  • The Huanggang Port Hong Kong Port Area is commissioned beginning at 00:00 hours of 31 July 2026.
Commissioning of the Hong Kong Port AreaHuanggang Port — Introduction
The design is one inspection instead of two queuesToday a land crossing is two controls: you clear Hong Kong exit, then mainland entry. The rebuilt port is designed around co-location and a joint-clearance mode, so a traveller is inspected once. Note the bureau's conditional wording — it is describing the design, not a service you can use.
  • The redeveloped Huanggang Port building would be a multi-storey building, and would implement the co-location arrangement and the novel "collaborative inspection and joint clearance" mode.
Clearance modeHuanggang Port — Introduction
It is positioned as a 24-hour passenger crossing, at a scale nothing here matches todayThe bureau's own positioning and design figures. Set against the directory above, where exactly one Hong Kong–Shenzhen land control point is open 24 hours to passengers, this is a change to the most load-bearing row on this page. Treat the clearance figure as the stated design target it is, never as a measured wait.
  • 24-hour passenger land boundary control point between Hong Kong and Shenzhen
  • Design Flow: 200 000 Passenger Trips
  • 5-minute Clearance Time
Positioning · Design Flow · Clearance TimeHuanggang Port — Introduction
The 24-hour crossing you would use today has a stated endThe Government says what happens to the existing site when the new port commissions: it is released, not kept running alongside. So the 24-hour Lok Ma Chau row above has an end point written down — with no date attached to it.
  • Upon commissioning of the new Huanggang Port, the existing sites of the Lok Ma Chau Control Point and the San Tin PTI will be released.
Fate of the existing control point sitePress release on the Huanggang Port co-location arrangement
The round-the-clock coach routes are a plan, not a timetableCoach services are described for the new port, round the clock. This is a plan for a port with no opening date, and it is not a timetable or a fare: the cross-boundary coach entry in the could-not-confirm block below stays exactly where it is.
  • five short-haul cross-boundary coach service routes operating 24 hours a day
Cross-boundary coach services at the new portPress release on the Huanggang Port co-location arrangement
The Shenzhen side confirms the same dates, from the mainland endThe municipal portal's port-office article gives the ordinance's gazette and effective dates, which match the Security Bureau's commissioning date read from the Hong Kong end. Two governments, two pages, one date — which is why it is published here rather than left as a single-sourced claim.
  • 《皇岗口岸港方口岸区条例》于7月20日刊宪，并将于7月31日生效，为香港特区在皇岗口岸设立港方口岸区，以及在港方口岸区依法实施管辖提供法律基础。
条例刊宪与生效《皇岗口岸港方口岸区条例》于7月20日刊宪
Both governments say the opening date is not fixed yetThe mainland sentence a traveller actually needs: the Guangdong and Hong Kong governments will settle the formal opening date only after both sides confirm the port can operate safely and smoothly, and will announce it in due course. Search results are full of a July 2026 opening; the governments' own pages are not. Plan on the existing crossings.
  • 待双方确认口岸具备安全、畅顺运作的条件后，粤港两地政府会敲定正式开通日期，并适时向公众公布。
正式开通日期《皇岗口岸港方口岸区条例》于7月20日刊宪

Published as Control Point Locations by Immigration Department, Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (immd.gov.hk) — the department that operates Hong Kong-side clearance and publishes each control point's service hours (the directory prints its own currency: Last Update: 26-06-2026).

Reference as: Control Point Locations

Published as Huanggang Port — Introduction by Security Bureau, Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (sb.gov.hk) — the policy bureau responsible for boundary control points and for the Huanggang co-location arrangement, on its own project page (no last-update date printed on the page; read 2026-10-06).

Reference as: Huanggang Port — Introduction

Published as Press release on the Huanggang Port co-location arrangement by Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (info.gov.hk), issued through the Information Services Department (dated 15 July 2026).

Reference as: Press release on the Huanggang Port co-location arrangement

Published as 《皇岗口岸港方口岸区条例》于7月20日刊宪 by 深圳市人民政府门户网站 (sz.gov.cn), 部门动态 column, content credited to 市口岸办 — the Shenzhen Municipal Port Office, which administers the city's boundary crossings (published 2026-07-23).

Read in part, on purpose. The portal credits the article's content to the municipal port office, and its closing paragraph also credits a broadcaster. Only the two clauses below are published from it — the gazette and effective dates, and the statement that the opening date is still to be fixed — and both are independently corroborated by the Hong Kong sources above. The named individuals' remarks elsewhere in the article, and figures carried there on the broadcaster's authority, are not published here.

Reference as: 《皇岗口岸港方口岸区条例》于7月20日刊宪

Pages read

Could not confirm on this read

  • Shenzhen's own published opening hours for its checkpoints. Four searches across the municipal portal and the National Immigration Administration on October 6, 2026 turned up no official page carrying a Shenzhen port-hours table; the only sites printing one were a commercial local-information site and two news outlets, which this page does not publish from. The municipal portal itself opens fine, so this is a gap in what is published online, not a page we were blocked from. The mainland-side hours in the table higher up this page therefore keep their earlier reading and their earlier source, and the hours in the table below are the Hong Kong side's, for the Hong Kong half of each crossing.
  • The date the rebuilt Huanggang Port opens to travellers. Neither the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government nor the Shenzhen Municipal Government had published one as of October 6, 2026: the Security Bureau's project page gives none, the Government's July 2026 press release speaks in the future tense throughout, the Shenzhen port office states the date will be settled later and announced in due course, and the Immigration Department's control-point directory — updated 26-06-2026 — carries no Huanggang entry at all.

These hours are the Hong Kong Immigration Department's own wording for its own control points, re-read on October 6, 2026 off a directory the department dates 26-06-2026. They cover the Hong Kong half of each crossing only. They are not Shenzhen's published hours — those were not found on an official page this pass, and the mainland-side column in the table higher up this page still carries its earlier reading rather than today's. They are also not a promise about any particular day: a directory states standing service hours, and it does not publish holiday arrangements, incident closures, or how long a queue will take once you are inside. The Huanggang rows are the two governments' statements about a port area that exists in law and has no published opening date for travellers, so nothing in them changes which crossing you use today; the design flow and clearance time are the Security Bureau's design figures, not measured performance. Cross-boundary coach and shuttle timetables and fares are commercial and remain unconfirmed here, and nothing above states what a crossing costs or how long it takes in practice.

The published facts

What a land crossing actually is

Each line links the official page and the day we read it. Sources read 2026-08-08.

A land crossing has a closing time

Unlike an airport, most crossings shut overnight. Only the Lok Ma Chau vehicle point and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge run 24 hours. The pedestrian ports a foot passenger uses — Lo Wu and Shenzhen Bay close at midnight, Lok Ma Chau Spur Line at 10:30 pm — so a late dinner in Shenzhen can strand you if you assumed the border was always open.

Source: Immigration Department, Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (immd.gov.hk), official English site — Control Point Locations (source standing directory page; read August 8, 2026)

It is two immigration checks, not one

A land crossing is two controls: you clear Hong Kong exit, then mainland entry. The Shenzhen government's own guide spells out the Wenjindu sequence — you stop first at the Shenzhen (mainland) gate house and complete the immigration process, then cross to Hong Kong immigration — so plan for two counters, not the single arrival desk you get at an airport.

Source: Nanshan District People's Government of Shenzhen (szns.gov.cn), republishing the Shenzhen municipal English portal (eyeshenzhen.com) — Checkpoints in Shenzhen (source updated 7 November 2024; read August 8, 2026)

Shenzhen Bay is one co-located building

The Shenzhen government describes Shenzhen Bay as the first boundary control point with the Hong Kong immigration facilities co-located in the same passenger terminal building as the mainland side, so departure and arrival clearance take place a short distance apart under one roof.

Source: Nanshan District People's Government of Shenzhen (szns.gov.cn), republishing the Shenzhen municipal English portal (eyeshenzhen.com) — Checkpoints in Shenzhen (source updated 7 November 2024; read August 8, 2026)

The mainland ports, named

The National Immigration Administration's own announcement names Shenzhen Bay Port in Shenzhen and Gongbei Port in Zhuhai as the mainland land ports — Shenzhen Bay is the mainland side of the Hong Kong Shenzhen Bay crossing, and Gongbei is the mainland side of the Macau Border Gate crossing.

Source: Exit and Entry Administration, P.R.C. / National Immigration Administration (en.nia.gov.cn) — Announcement on the Launch of 'Document-Free' Channels at Ports of Shenzhen Bay and Gongbei on a Trial Basis (No. 9 [2024]) (source No. 9 [2024], dated 15 November 2024, effective 20 November 2024; read August 8, 2026)

The 'document-free' lanes are not for a foreign passport

News of 'document-free' channels at Shenzhen Bay and Gongbei can make a visitor think they can walk through without a passport. The regulator's text scopes those lanes to Chinese mainland residents with Hong Kong/Macao permits and to Hong Kong/Macao SAR residents (including non-Chinese residents) with Mainland Travel Permits — not to ordinary foreign tourists. As a foreign visitor you present your passport at a staffed / standard channel.

Source: Exit and Entry Administration, P.R.C. / National Immigration Administration (en.nia.gov.cn) — Announcement on the Launch of 'Document-Free' Channels at Ports of Shenzhen Bay and Gongbei on a Trial Basis (No. 9 [2024]) (source No. 9 [2024], dated 15 November 2024, effective 20 November 2024; read August 8, 2026)

By high-speed rail: you clear the mainland border inside Hong Kong

At West Kowloon Station a Mainland Port Area applies mainland immigration and mainland law on Hong Kong soil (the co-location arrangement, operating since September 2018). You clear both sides in one building before boarding and arrive in Shenzhen or Guangzhou already admitted — there is no second border stop at the far end.

Source: Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (info.gov.hk), Government Information Services press release — Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (Co-location) Ordinance comes into operation (source dated 4 September 2018; read August 8, 2026)

Exit one side, enter the other

Five steps across the border

  1. 1.Pick your port by its hours, not just its location: if you might return late, a crossing that closes at 10:30 pm or midnight can strand you — only the Lok Ma Chau vehicle point and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge run 24 hours.
  2. 2.Carry the passport you entered Hong Kong on; a foreign visitor uses the passport channel, not the document-free lanes reserved for Hong Kong/Macao permit holders.
  3. 3.Clear Hong Kong exit control first — this is the departure side, and it is a full immigration check, not a formality.
  4. 4.Cross to mainland entry control and present your passport (and complete the Arrival Card if it applies — see the visa-free / arrival-card page). Remember the mainland uses a different name for the same port.
  5. 5.By high-speed rail from West Kowloon, both checks happen inside the Hong Kong station before you board, so you step off in the mainland already admitted.

By high-speed rail

The border you clear inside Hong Kong

Why the West Kowloon crossing surprises first-timers, from the Hong Kong government's own press release.

  • At West Kowloon Station a Mainland Port Area applies mainland immigration and mainland law on Hong Kong soil. You clear both sides in one building before boarding and arrive already admitted — no second border stop at the far end.
  • The West Kowloon control point runs 6:30 am to 11:30 pm, so the last high-speed trains are timed to it — miss the window and you fall back to a road or rail crossing.

In short

Land-crossing questions a visitor asks first

Which port, why two names, the document-free trap, and how it differs from flying in.

Which crossing do I use from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, and until when is it open?

For foot passengers, Lo Wu (to Luohu) or Lok Ma Chau Spur Line (to Futian) by rail; by bus or car, Shenzhen Bay (a co-located building) or the Lok Ma Chau vehicle point (to Huanggang). Only the Lok Ma Chau vehicle point and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge run 24 hours — the other land crossings close between 10 pm and midnight, so pick your port by its hours if you plan a late return.

Why do the two sides use different names for the same crossing?

Because each side names its own facility. Lo Wu on the Hong Kong side is Luohu on the mainland side, Lok Ma Chau Spur Line is Futian, and the Lok Ma Chau vehicle point is Huanggang. Once you are through Hong Kong exit control, follow the mainland name.

Can I use the 'document-free' fast channels I read about?

No. The document-free channels at Shenzhen Bay and Gongbei are for Chinese mainland residents with Hong Kong/Macao permits and for Hong Kong/Macao residents with Mainland Travel Permits, not for ordinary foreign passports. As a foreign visitor you present your passport at a staffed channel.

How is a land crossing different from arriving by air?

It is two immigration checks, not one: you clear Hong Kong exit, then mainland entry (or, by high-speed rail from West Kowloon, both inside the Hong Kong station before boarding). And it has a closing time — an airport arrival hall does not.

Can I still cross the border at Sha Tau Kok?

No. The Hong Kong Immigration Department's control-point directory, read on October 6, 2026, states that clearance services at Sha Tau Kok have been suspended until further notice. It still appears on maps and in guidebooks as a Hong Kong–Shenzhen land crossing, so plan for Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau Spur Line, Man Kam To, Heung Yuen Wai, Lok Ma Chau or Shenzhen Bay instead.

What time do Man Kam To and Heung Yuen Wai close?

Both are published as 7:00 am to 10:00 pm — the earliest closing time of any Hong Kong–Shenzhen land crossing, and a later start than the rail ports. Heung Yuen Wai is the Hong Kong side of Liantang and Man Kam To the Hong Kong side of Wenjindu. If you are out in Shenzhen into the evening, Lo Wu runs to midnight and the Lok Ma Chau vehicle point is the only one open 24 hours to passengers.

Has the rebuilt Huanggang Port opened, and is the Lok Ma Chau crossing closing?

The Hong Kong Port Area inside Huanggang was commissioned at midnight on 31 July 2026, and the Hong Kong Government has said that when the new port commissions the existing Lok Ma Chau Control Point site will be released. But neither government had published an opening date for travellers as of October 6, 2026 — the Shenzhen port office states the date will be settled by the two governments and announced in due course, and the Immigration Department's directory carries no Huanggang entry. Cross at the existing crossings and check before you rely on the new one.

Could not confirm

What this page will not assert

Facts that circulate widely but were not on a page we could open. We leave them here rather than guess.

  • Cross-boundary bus and coach timetables and fares (for example the Lok Ma Chau–Huanggang shuttle) are commercial operator specifics and were not confirmed on an official page; only the fact that Lok Ma Chau is the 24-hour Hong Kong vehicle control point is sourced.
  • The daily operating hours of the Macau Border Gate (Portas do Cerco) / Gongbei Port — often cited as 6:00 am to 1:00 am — were not confirmed on an official page we could open, so we do not publish a figure. The opened Macau-side anchor is the round-the-clock Qingmao Checkpoint, which is designed for Macao ID holders and registered users, not the default foreign-visitor crossing.
  • Whether a Hong-Kong-based visitor who day-trips to the mainland and returns can rely on visa-free transit is a separate question, because transit requires an onward ticket to a third country or region — see the visa-free-and-arrival-card page, which sets out the condition.

Do visa-free and the Arrival Card apply here?

The companion page: whether the visa-free transit rule and the online Arrival Card work at a land port the same way as at an airport.

Open page

The arrival inspection

What the mainland entry check involves once you are through Hong Kong exit control.

Open page

High-speed rail across China

The wider rail network the West Kowloon crossing plugs you into once you are admitted.

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