Name(English): Central-Mid-Levels Escalator and Walkway System
Name(Chinese): 中環至半山自動扶梯系統
Category: Transportation; Major Attraction
Address(English): 9 Cochrane St, Central
Address(Chinese): 中環閣麟街9號
Address Google Map Link: https://goo.gl/maps/3zFTY7x46gxHHiXZA
Address longitude and latitude: 22.28360659582399, 114.15477418505067
Nearest MTR Station: Central MTR Station Exit D2
Nearest MTR Station Google Map Link: https://goo.gl/maps/EEnvFUB97AZ5Gwbx8
Nearest MTR Station longitude and latitude: 22.281977, 114.157098
How far from the nearest MTR Station: 5 min walk from Central Station MTR Exit D2
Opening Hours:
MON 06:00 – 23:59
TUE 06:00 – 23:59
WED 06:00 – 23:59
THU 06:00 – 23:59
FRI 06:00 – 23:59
SAT 06:00 – 23:59
SUN 06:20 – 23:59
Downhill (Conduit Road to Cochrane St) 10:00 – 23:59 Monday – Saturday; 06:20 – 23:59 Sunday & public holidays
Uphill (Cochrane Street to Conduit Road) 06:00 – 10:00 Monday – Saturday
Recommended Time to Visit: Day time after 10am (when the escalators is going uphill)
Accessibility Note: Need to walk up some slopes and staircases
Reminder: 24 minutes walk in total, start from 9 Cochrane St, ending Point: Conduit Road
Special Remark: Renovation is underway until the end of 2021, some sections are closed. For details of the closures please visit the website https://www.anlev.com/mid-levels/. Wheelchair not accessible
The city of Hong Kong Island is built on and around slopes. Other than taking countless steps to walk up the long slopes, an escalator system is built for the residents to commute between Central and the Mid-Levels. The Central-Mid-Levels Escalator and Walkway System is listed as the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the Guinness World Records.
For visitors, a journey on the escalators offers an excellent opportunity to unveil the history and culture of the oldest part of the city. Starting from the Central Market, where the Central business district is located, you will experience the busiest and bustling street. As you start climbing up the escalators, you will find pubs and bars standing right next to traditional shops and restaurants in SOHO area. A few streets up, you will come to the recently revitalised Tai kwun which consists of three declared monuments including a prison that was only decommissioned in 2005. Further up beyond Caine Road, you will reach mid-levels, an affluent residential area that make a big contrast with the starting point of the whole escalator system.
You may choose to exit the escalators at Caine Road (uphill direction). By turning either side, you will walk through different history of Hong Kong in the early 20th century:
- Turn left (eastward): Understanding the early colonial development by visiting Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens and going downhill to HSBC building
- Turn right (westward): Unveiling Hong Kong as the revolutionary base by visiting to Dr. Sun Yat-sen museum and follow the heritage trail through “antique street” of Hollywood Road back to Sheung Wan.
In line with Hong Kong escalator etiquette, slow or idle users generally keep to the right. Also beware that owing to limited space in the narrow streets, there is only one escalator and so the escalators either travel downwards or upwards. Make sure to come at the right time or else you will be walking up or down 782 steps!
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