Episode 12: Mid-Level Escalators

Right above the road you can see covered galleries - the so-called Mid-level Escalators – the world's longest covered outdoor escalator which goes through the streets of the steep hillside of Victoria Peak. It is 800 meters long and 135 meters high, and it takes about 20 minutes to travel the length of it.In fact, the mid-level escalator is not one, excessively long escalator, but rather a series of 20 escalators and 3 inclined moving walkways connected by footbridges.The project was conceived in 1987 in order to increase vehicular traffic in the area. Since 1993, the escalator has been in operation. In the beginning, it was severely criticised for its poor performance, but then the project was restructured and performance improved immensely. The mid-level escalator became extremely popular, and it carries over 55,000 people per day. We would love to take you on an escalator ride, but unfortunately it is impossible. Due to the lack of space in the area, the escalator travels on in one direction at a time so, from 6 am to 10am, it goes downhill and, from 10am till midnight, it goes uphill, which is not the direction we want to go.
Photo HK Central Cochrane Street Central-Mid-Levels escalators Upsidedown by WingLuk is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0