A cross-border marathon test event for the National Games will be held on Feb 23, with the Shenzhen Bay port suspending services for nine hours in the morning to accommodate the event.

The 2025 Shenzhen-Hong Kong marathon and the 15th National Games athletics (marathon) test will be run from Shenzhen Nanshan and Qianhai to Yuen Long in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, with the official race being the first marathon in National Games history to span the two cities.

Yeung Tak-keung, head of the National Games Coordination Office of the Hong Kong SAR government, said on at a news conference on Thursday that Shenzhen Bay port will be closed to nonparticipants and vehicles from 2 am to 11 am on the day of the test.

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Yeung said that during this period, Shenzhen Bay Bridge, Kong Sham Western Highway, and the roads surrounding the port will also be closed. Public transportation to and from the port will be suspended, requiring residents and vehicles to use alternative ports, he added.

The race covers a total distance of 42.2 kilometers, with each city accounting for approximately half of the distance. The starting and finishing point is the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center Stadium.

Yeung said the women’s race will start at 7 am, followed by the men 30 minutes later, passing through Shenzhen Nanshan District, Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone, Shenzhen Bay port, Shenzhen Bay Bridge, and the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Corridor before returning. The Hong Kong section is expected to be completed in two hours, he said.

Wong Pak-kin, chief transport officer of the Transport Department, said that most people tend to travel between 9 am and 11 am, but considering the closure of border crossings during this period in the past, other ports have sufficient resources to accommodate residents redirected from the closed area.

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Regarding cross-border private vehicles, he said that there will be approximately 2,000 vehicle trips in and out of the border during the closure period, and the assessment indicates that other ports should have enough capacity to accommodate redirected vehicle flows.

Wong said that the test event will follow the closed-loop management model used in the 2024 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Road Cycling Race, with intelligent touchless customs clearance throughout.

There will be no public viewing areas for the test event, and residents interested in watching the event should pay attention to online live broadcasts.