Photo: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2005.
Freight flows between China and the rest of the world tend to be imbalanced with a greater quantity of outbound traffic. As the port of Hong Kong is a significant outlet for the Pearl River Delta’s exports, a significant share of cross-border freight traffic concerns empty loads towards Shenzhen. Procedures have been developed to accommodate such flows. To expedite the border crossing process, truck drivers are asked to leave the back door open so that customs officers can see with a quick glance that the truck is empty.