The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government has welcomed four new measures unveiled by the mainland authorities on Monday to facilitate cross-boundary travel and people-to-people exchange.

The measures include allowing talents from Tianjin, Hebei, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, and all pilot free trade zones across the country to apply starting Wednesday for an exit endorsement that would facilitate their travel to the HKSAR for exchanges and visits.

The talent exit endorsement has been implemented in the mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area on a pilot basis since Feb 20, 2023 and then expanded to Beijing and Shanghai in May 2024.

“As of October 2025, more than 74,000 arrivals in Hong Kong were visitors holding the talent exit endorsement,” a spokesperson for the HKSAR government said in a statement.

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The expansion will enhance “Hong Kong’s attractiveness in pooling talents and strengthening its unique role as the country’s international talent hub,” according to the spokesperson.

Mainland authorities will also implement “facial recognition” intelligent exit-entry clearance at various ports, including the Huanggang, Luohu, Liantang, Futian and Wenjindu Ports in Shenzhen, as well as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Port.

They also designated four more ports connecting the HKSAR as entry ports under the 240-hour visa-free transit policy.

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These two arrangements will allow travelers to complete clearance without presenting their physical travel documents and attract international visitors to take Hong Kong as their entry stop or transit point to the country, leveraging the city’s position as an international tourism hub, according to the spokesperson.

New measures will also be implemented to facilitate the efficient cross-boundary flow of production factors within the Shenzhen Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone.

The SAR government will continue to actively collaborate with the mainland authorities to promote efficient and convenient cross-boundary travel for innovation and technology talents, and further contributing to the high-quality development of the GBA, the spokesperson said.