This morning I took the mid-levels escalator down to Hong Kong station so that I could catch the express train to the airport (for a United flight that ultimately got cancelled). Supposedly, it is the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world. 

If you’ve ever walked the streets of Hong Kong you’ll know that the ground plane can be inhospitable at times. There’s limited space and steep pitches. So this system must have been a real innovation when it was constructed in the 90′s. It takes you up and down about 135m in elevation.

Because the streets are so narrow it’s a unidirectional system. The network of escalators and walkways brings you down to the CBD in the morning and then back up to the mid-levels for the remainder of the day.

Hong Kong Island probably isn’t the most natural of environments to build a major global city. But they more than made it work.