Central-Mid-Levels escalators
Encyclopedia
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
is the longest outdoor covered escalator
Escalator
An escalator is a moving staircase – a conveyor transport device for carrying people between floors of a building. The device consists of a motor-driven chain of individual, linked steps that move up or down on tracks, allowing the step treads to remain horizontal.Escalators are used around the...
system in the world. The entire system covers over 800 metres in distance and elevates over 135 metres from bottom to top. It was constructed in 1993 to provide a better commute by linking areas within the Central and Western District
Central and Western District
The Central and Western District located on northern part of Hong Kong Island is one of the 18 administrative districts of Hong Kong. It had a population of 261,884 in 2001...
on Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km², as of 2008...
.
Description
Hong Kong IslandHong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km², as of 2008...
is dominated by steep, hilly terrain, which makes it the home of some rather unusual methods of transport up and down the slopes.
Since it was officially opened to the public on 15 October 1993, the elevator system has played a very important role in pedestrianising the Western District
Central and Western District
The Central and Western District located on northern part of Hong Kong Island is one of the 18 administrative districts of Hong Kong. It had a population of 261,884 in 2001...
. It links Des Voeux Road
Des Voeux Road
Des Voeux Road Central and Des Voeux Road West are two roads on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. They were named after the 10th Governor of Hong Kong, Sir George William Des Vœux...
in Central
Central, Hong Kong
Central is the central business district of Hong Kong. It is located in Central and Western District, on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, across Victoria Harbour from Tsim Sha Tsui, the southernmost point of Kowloon Peninsula...
with Conduit Road
Conduit Road
Conduit Road is a road in the Mid-Levels on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong.-The road and buildings:Conduit Road was constructed in 1910. It is located in Western Mid-Levels. It is named after the aqueduct passing underneath which carries water from the Pok Fu Lam Reservoir to the Central area. It is...
in the Mid-levels
Mid-levels
Mid-levels is an expensive residential area on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is located halfway up Victoria Peak, directly above Central...
, passing through narrow streets. The daily traffic exceeds 55,000 people, although originally forecast 27,000.
The escalators are 800 metres (2,624.7 ft) long with a vertical climb of 135 metres (442.9 ft). The total travel time is twenty minutes, but most people walk while the escalator moves to shorten their trip. Due to the geographical situation, the same distance is equivalent to several miles of zigzagging roads if travelling by car. It consists of twenty escalators and three moving side-walks. According to Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
, these escalators together form the longest outdoor covered escalator system.
The escalator daily runs downhill from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and uphill from 10:30am to midnight. Apart from serving as a method of transporting, it is also a tourist attraction and has restaurants, bars, and shops lining its route. There is an entrance and exit on each road it passes, often on both sides of the road.
Bisecting streets
The escalator runs through Cochrane StreetCochrane Street
Cochrane Street is a hilly street between Queen's Road Central and the junction with Gage Street and Lyndhurst Terrace in the Central, Hong Kong...
between Queen's Road Central and Hollywood Road
Hollywood Road
Hollywood Road is a street in Central and Sheung Wan, on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong.Hollywood Road is filled with trinket and antique shops of all sorts: from Chinese furniture to porcelain ware, from Buddha sculptures to Tibetan rugs, from Japanese netsukes to Coromandel screens, from Ming...
. Then it runs along Shelley Street
Shelley Street
Shelley Street is a street in Central, Hong Kong. It is a ladder street and the Central–Mid-levels escalators run along the entire length of the street.-Name:...
.
The escalator bisects the following streets/roads:
- Des Voeux Road Central (德輔道中)
- Queen's Road Central (皇后大道中)
- Stanley Street (士丹利街)
- Wellington StreetWellington Street, Hong KongWellington Street is a street in Central and Sheung Wan on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It is a straight road running downward and westward from Wyndham Street to Queen's Road Central. The two sides of street is a mosaic of old and new buildings. Varieties of trades can be found on the street level...
(威靈頓街) - Gage StreetGage StreetGage Street is a street in Central, Hong Kong. It is on the lower hill and between the junction with Cochrane Street and Lyndhurst Terrace, Graham Street and Aberdeen Street. The street is mainly a market.It is named after William Hall Gage.-See also:...
(結志街) - Lyndhurst TerraceLyndhurst TerraceLyndhurst Terrace is a street in the Central area of Hong Kong. Built on a slope in southern Central district, the terrace links Hollywood Road and Wellington Street. In the middle it meets Gage Street and Cochrane Street, and also the Central-Mid-Levels escalators.-Name:The terrace was named...
(擺花街) - Hollywood RoadHollywood RoadHollywood Road is a street in Central and Sheung Wan, on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong.Hollywood Road is filled with trinket and antique shops of all sorts: from Chinese furniture to porcelain ware, from Buddha sculptures to Tibetan rugs, from Japanese netsukes to Coromandel screens, from Ming...
(荷里活道) - Staunton StreetStaunton StreetStaunton Street is a street in Central and Sheung Wan, on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Together with the upper section of Elgin Street, it is the heart of the Soho entertainment area, featuring a number of restaurants, bars and shops...
(士丹頓街) - Elgin StreetElgin Street, Hong KongElgin Street is located in Central, Hong Kong. It was named after James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin. One of the earliest streets in Hong Kong, it was also known as "Mud Street" by the locals, as the street became very muddy in rainy days in the old days....
(伊利近街) - Caine RoadCaine RoadCaine Road is a main road in Hong Kong connecting Bonham Road in the west and Arbuthnot Road and Upper Albert Road in the east ....
(堅道) - Mosque Street (摩羅廟街)
- Mosque Junction (摩羅廟交加街)
- Robinson RoadRobinson Road, Hong KongRobinson Road is a 2-lane, bi-directional road on the Mid-levels, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. In the east, it is connected with the Magazine Gap Road and Garden Road, and in the west with Babington Road and Park Road, Robinson Road is quite long. With Central-Mid-Levels escalator, it also...
(羅便臣道) - Conduit RoadConduit RoadConduit Road is a road in the Mid-Levels on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong.-The road and buildings:Conduit Road was constructed in 1910. It is located in Western Mid-Levels. It is named after the aqueduct passing underneath which carries water from the Pok Fu Lam Reservoir to the Central area. It is...
(干德道)
Project history
The proposal of the project began in November 1987, when the Government faced the problem of increasing vehicular traffic in Mid-levels. It was an "out of the box" transportation solution generated by a group of civil engineers working for P&T Architects and Engineers Ltd.In operation since 1993, it cost HK$240 million (US$30 million) to build although it was originally approved in March 1990 with a budget of HK$100m and annual maintenance costs of $950,000. Since its conception in March 1987, its scope and its budget were considerably increased.
In November 1996, the Director of Audit issued a report which criticised the project as being a "white elephant", saying that it failed to achieve the primary objective of reducing traffic between the mid levels and Central, as well as over-running its budget by 153%. The Highways Department's poor handling of the project was the main reason for having five cost revisions of the project since the budget had been initially approved. Director of Audit blamed it for failing to address the risks and complexities associated with the project in the pre-tender estimates, and costs rising because of delays. Land resumption costs were also underestimated by $74 million (or 180%).
The report also points out that a "before-and-after" study by the Transport Department indicated no obvious reduction in traffic congestion.
Reshaping of landscape
Since the escalator system opened, most pedestrians gather at the elevated level; previously they gathered at the street level. This has opened up large tracts of intermediate levels above ("SoHoSoho, Hong Kong
The Soho district in Hong Kong is an entertainment zone located in Central and bordering Sheung Wan, within Central...
") and below ("NoHo") Hollywood Road
Hollywood Road
Hollywood Road is a street in Central and Sheung Wan, on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong.Hollywood Road is filled with trinket and antique shops of all sorts: from Chinese furniture to porcelain ware, from Buddha sculptures to Tibetan rugs, from Japanese netsukes to Coromandel screens, from Ming...
, to pedestrians and commerce. Many restaurants have opened around all the elevated level, in the first or second floors of buildings already present.
Film location
The Central–Mid-levels escalators have been used as filming locations for several films, including:- Chungking ExpressChungking ExpressChungking Express is a 1994 Hong Kong film written and directed by Wong Kar-wai. The film consists of two stories told in sequence, each about a lovesick Hong Kong policeman mulling over his relationship with a woman...
(1994). Director Wong Kar-waiWong Kar-waiWong Kar-wai BBS is a Hong Kong Second Wave filmmaker, internationally renowned as an auteur for his visually unique, highly stylized, emotionally resonant work, including Days of Being Wild , Ashes of Time , Chungking Express , Fallen Angels , Happy Together and 2046...
stated: "That interests me because no one has made a movie there. When we were scouting for locations we found the light there entirely appropriate." - Chinese BoxChinese BoxChinese Box is a 1997 movie directed by Wayne Wang and starring Jeremy Irons, Gong Li, Maggie Cheung and Michael Hui.The movie is set and was made at the time of Hong Kong's handover to the People's Republic of China on June 30, 1997...
(1997). Set in the months immediately preceding the 1997 handover of Hong Kong, the flat-cum-office of the main character John (Jeremy Irons) is located directly at the Central–Mid-levels escalators. - Batman film The Dark KnightThe Dark Knight (film)The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed, produced and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is part of Nolan's Batman film series and a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins...
(2008). Filming took place there from 6–11 November 2007.
External links
- Labyrinth in the Air - TV program by the Radio Television Hong KongRadio Television Hong KongRadio Television Hong Kong is a public broadcasting organisation in Hong Kong that is operated as an independent department in the government under the Broadcasting Authority. RTHK operates seven radio channels, and produces television programmes that are then broadcast through local television...
on the Central–Mid-levels escalators and the related Central Elevated WalkwayCentral Elevated WalkwayThe Central Elevated Walkway is an extensive footbridge network spanning Admiralty and Central, near Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong.The system was built in phases by the Hong Kong Government and various developers, such as Hongkong Land, Jardine Matheson Holdings and Shun Tak Holdings. It has...
. (video archive) - More photos of Central–Mid-levels escalators
- Mid-Levels Photo Gallery
- BBC Close-up, brief video on the importance of the escalators