A 20-Minute Ride on Hong Kong's 800-Metre Escalator, Which Reverses Direction by Time of Day

In Hong Kong, travelling from one part of the city to another can mean neither a train, a bus nor a cable car, but the Central-Mid-Levels Escalator. The roughly 800-metre moving walkway system is known as the world's longest covered outdoor escalator system. In length, it is almost equal to the height of Dubai's Burj Khalifa.

American vlogger Caitlin recently shared her experience of riding the escalator on social media. In a video published on Instagram, she is heard saying she is now in Hong Kong and about to ride the world's longest escalator, that its length is about the same as the Burj Khalifa's height, and that she wants to see how long it takes to reach the top. The journey began at 2:51 pm.

After starting the journey, she realised it would take quite some time to reach the top. Even after about 10 minutes had passed, she was still going up the moving stairs. In the video, Caitlin says 10 minutes have gone by and she is still riding the escalator upwards. She also expressed surprise at a particularly steep section along the way.

Along the route, the views of Hong Kong's hilly areas and the surrounding settlements caught her eye. Passing one moving stair after another on the way up, Caitlin was charmed by the city's beauty. But one thing worried her during the long journey. While there is an escalator to go up, there is no similar escalator to come down; there are stairs. She was left wondering how she would get back down.

After about 20 minutes, Caitlin finally reached the end of the escalator system. In the video she is heard saying she has finally reached the end, that the ride on the world's longest escalator ended after 20 minutes, and that she now has to think about how to return below.

The Hong Kong escalator is a special attraction for tourists, not only a means of transport. There are various restaurants, shops and local businesses on both sides of it. As a result, travellers can get off midway to look around the surrounding area and taste local food.

The escalator does not run in the same direction all day, however. Keeping passengers' convenience in mind, it changes direction according to the time. From 6 am to 10 am it runs downwards, so that people can easily reach their workplaces during the busy morning hours. After that, from 10:20 am until midnight, it runs upwards. Tourists and local residents can therefore use the moving stairs to travel towards the city's higher areas at other times of the day.