Hong Kong – Mid-Levels Escalators

In Hong Kong, besides shopping, the next best thing to do is eating. We had a cup of coffee in the hotel room before heading to the Chinese restaurant at Habour City for dim sum lunch. When we first stepped into the restaurant, it was rather empty. Just before our food was served, diners started streaming into the restaurant as it was lunch time.

After a sumptuous meal, we made our way to the Mid-Levels Escalators. We took the MTR to the Central Station, exited the station at Exit D2, made a right turn onto the Theatre Lane and walked along Queen’s Road towards the Central-Mid-Levels Escalators.

A brief history of Central. In 1841, when the British came, Central was an uninhabited hillside. Then warehouses and offices were built along Queen’s Road. Since then Central has remained to be the commercial heart of the city. The district was usually called “Victoria” in English but better known as “Chung Wan” (中環), which means “The Middle Bazaar” among the Chinese which was originally the name of a squatter area near today’s Graham Street. The name “Chung Wan” stuck and that’s how the name Central came about.

The Mid-Levels Escalators opened on 15 October 1994, at 800 metres (2,600 feet) is the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world. The escalator runs downhill from 6 am to 10 am and uphill from 10.30 am to midnight daily. There are 18 escalators and 3 inclined travelators. Pedestrians travelling in the opposite direction will make use of the adjacent stairs and footpaths. One-way travel time is about 25 minutes. I could not imagine climbing up the hill without the escalators. The height from bottom to top is over 135 metres (443 feet).

Riding the Mid-Levels Escalator, we reached the Hollywood Road or better known as the Antique Street as it is the centre of art and antique trade.

Along the way, we saw some interesting stores and wall murals.

We continued our way to the Mid-Levels Escalator and stopped by at a cafe for afternoon coffee.

The clients at the cafe were mostly foreigners. The lady with her dog was there before we arrived and was still there reading her book when we left. There was a man at the table next to us, was learning Mandarin.

After our coffee and a slice of cake, we continued our way up the Mid-Levels Escalators.

We have finally reached the end of the Mid-Levels Escalators (23E) and now time to make our way to Peak Tram. Looking at the signage, the Peak Tram is 20-minutes walk away.

What goes up, must come down. We walked down the hill to Peak Tram Station, passing by the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens and residential buildings.

Stay tuned for my next post on our evening at The Peak.

This trip was made in Spring 2017.

The Lowdown

Getting There: Take MTR to the Central Station, exit the station at Exit D2, made a right turn onto the Theatre Lane and walk along Queen’s Road towards the Central-Mid-Levels Escalators.

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