5 years on, they've made Macao-Hengqin integration a daily reality

Five years after the Master Plan for the Construction of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin was issued, a strategic blueprint has become reality.

Official data shows more than 30,000 Macao residents have built their careers or settled in the zone, more than 8,000 Macao-funded enterprises have flourished, and daily passenger flow at Hengqin Port nears 100,000.

Neildo Choi, CEO of SinoKru Electronic Tech Ltd., during an interview with People's Daily Online, Aug. 21, 2026. (People's Daily Online/Han Yuxuan)

"We used to go to Hengqin for business; now we go back to Hengqin for life," said Neildo Choi, CEO of SinoKru Electronic Tech Ltd. Since arriving in 2019, he has expanded his business from tech services to a cultural tourism ecosystem, launching the "Find Macao" and "Find Hengqin" platforms that showcase the charm of both places to millions of viewers.

"Integration is woven into our daily commute, every performance and livestream," he noted.

Ng Hong Kei, executive director and vice president of BoardWare Intelligence Technology Ltd., goes about his daily life between Hengqin and Macao, Aug. 14, 2026. (People's Daily Online/Han Yuxuan)

Ng Hong Kei, executive director and vice president of BoardWare Intelligence Technology Ltd. — widely known as "Macao's first tech stock" — is both a builder and a beneficiary of this integration.

He came to Hengqin in 2017, and his company later joined the development of Hengqin Port's pioneering "joint one-stop" clearance system, which cuts vehicle border checks to seconds and recently completed a facial recognition upgrade.

"Hengqin is close to Macao, and even closer to the future," Ng said, adding that Hengqin's space and resources have unlocked major R&D potential for his team.

Stephen Wong, director of Authenmole (Macao) Traditional Chinese Medicine Technology Ltd., and his family take a walk at Macao New Neighbourhood in Hengqin, Aug. 15, 2026. (People's Daily Online/Wu Yuyangyang)

For Stephen Wong, director of Authenmole (Macao) Traditional Chinese Medicine Technology Ltd., Hengqin brings both career growth and family stability. His daughter was born in 2024, and the family of three moved into Macao New Neighbourhood, the flagship community in Hengqin.

"My daughter can play in the park downstairs every day, and on weekends we take her to the nearby greenways," Wong said. As of April, the community was already home to more than 4,000 residents and is expected to grow to 12,000 to 15,000 people, with the Chinese mainland's first school for Macao children just a short distance away.

Looking ahead, Sam Hou Fai, chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region, has stressed Hengqin's core role in Macao's appropriate economic diversification.

Macao's Third Five-Year Plan aims for Hengqin's five pillar industries to account for 65 percent or more of its GDP by 2030. The plan also calls for more Macao residents and enterprises to settle in the zone, and stronger public services and social security. These goals mark a clear path forward for deeper, people-centered cross-border integration in the coming years.