Hong Kong is now connected to Macau by ferry. Long-running negotiations for a bridge connection between the two cities, and their mainland neighbor Zhuhai, have led to nothing but hurt feelings and finger pointing. Enter Beijing. The government of China has a rare chance to play the good guy in the former colonies. And it will only cost them a few billion dollars. According to The Standard, Beijing has stepped in to take over the project and will spend 7 billion yuan (HK$ 8 billion) to get things off the ground.

The result: in 6-7 years it will be possible to drive from the mainland to Macau to Hong Kong without having to board a ferry or even get out of your car. Impatient compulsive gamblers will not have to deal with sea-sickness or tardy ferryboat captains on the way to Macau. The bridge will also do wonders for the mainland, turning an already crazy shopping scene into an orgy of consumerism and name-brand knockoffs.

But what about the storied ferry service? Will it disappear? Probably not. When the tunnel was built under Victoria Harbor, ferries continued to do a brisk business up above. The same would probably be true for the HK-Macau service. Emphasis on probably.

Filed under: China, News