Storyline: China's 240-hour visa-free transit program has expanded to five more ports of entry in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, further facilitating foreign travelers' entry into the country. The five ports are located respectively in Guangzhou, Zhuhai's Hengqin and Zhongshan, along with the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link. The new policy, effective on Wednesday, raises the total number of ports of entry eligible for the 240-hour visa-free transit from 60 to 65. Early on Wednesday morning, the West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link received a large number of foreign travelers. Johnstone Gordon Robert from the United Kingdom became the first traveler at the port to benefit from the new visa-free transit policy, as he began a 10-day tour of China. "As soon as I arrived at the port, everybody was incredibly friendly, very helpful. They made the whole process very, very smooth. It's been a very easy and quick experience. I'm going to visit Guangzhou and there I'm going to see some of the historical districts and try some of the Cantonese foods," Robert said. "We usually fly from Jakarta, Indonesia to Hong Kong. We're going to Macao, and transit through Shenzhen (in south China) for shopping. Today the whole process was quite quick. And the new policy is great. It's fantastic," said Sastromidjojo Subroto, an Indonesian tourist. In addition, five key ports of entry in Shenzhen -- Huanggang, Luohu, Liantang, Futian, and Wenjindu -- officially implemented facial recognition smart clearance technology on Wednesday. Per the announcement from the National Immigration Administration, travelers aged 14 and above, possessing valid eligible identification documents and consenting to the collection and verification of biometric information, may opt to utilize the smart channels for facial recognition passage. "Today I experienced facial recognition technology for customs clearance for the first time, and I felt super exciting. Previously, retrieving and scanning documents was cumbersome and time-consuming. The smart border clearance system demonstrated today offers significant convenience and efficiency," said Chen Liwen, another tourist. Shotlist: Guangdong Province, south China - Nov 5, 2025: 1. Various of passengers at West Kowloon Station of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link 2. SOUNDBITE (English) Johnstone Gordon Robert, tourist from United Kingdom (partially overlaid with shot 3): "As soon as I arrived at the port, everybody was incredibly friendly, very helpful. They made the whole process very, very smooth. It's been a very easy and quick experience. I'm going to visit Guangzhou and there I'm going to see some of the historical districts and try some of the Cantonese foods." [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 3. Robert going through customs clearance procedures [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 4. Various of foreign travelers waiting in line for customs clearance 5. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Sastromidjojo Subroto, Indonesian tourist (partially overlaid with shot 6): "We usually fly from Jakarta, Indonesia, to Hong Kong. We're going to Macao, and transit through Shenzhen for shopping. Today the whole process was quite quick. And the new policy is great. It's fantastic." [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBTIE] 6. Various of foreign travelers going through customs clearance procedures [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBTIE] 7. Various of passengers on escalator, walking 8. Various of passengers using facial recognition equipment for customs clearance 9. SOUNDBTIE (Chinese) Chen Liwen, passenger: "Today I experienced facial recognition technology for customs clearance for the first time, and I felt super exciting. Previously, retrieving and scanning documents was cumbersome and time-consuming. The smart border clearance system demonstrated today offers significant convenience and efficiency." 10. Various of passengers using facial recognition equipment for customs clearance [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]