Midlevels Escalator: An Easy Commute
The Midlevels Escalator, a semi-encased 800 meter long conveyance, zig-zags from exclusive apartments on Robinson Road through Soho to the Central Business District. The longest outdoor escalator in the world is more than tourist-kitsch; it serves as a primary commuting method for many residents who work in Central. The escalator runs downhill from 6am to 10am and uphill from 10:20am to midnight. The escalator provides a bird’s eye view of many charming — albeit cluttered — alleys, hakka food stalls, wet markets and Chinese medicine shops that exist in Soho. If a coffee or lunch break is needed along your trip, Elgin Street, Staunton Street or the shops along the escalator (Shelley Street) are lined with western and Asian restaurants.
Underneath the escalator lies the Gage Street Market. Contrasting the dry markets that exist in Central (e.g. Li Yuen Street’s endless supply of clothes, watches, shoes, clothes, clothes and clothes), this ‘wet’ market offers a robust selection of fresh fish, meat, vegetables and fruit. If you watch long enough you will surely see the butchers carve up some meat or pork from the thick loins and chops that hang from hooks. Equally fascinating is spying a fish monger carving up a whole white fish and determining the costs by weighing it with a ‘catty’ string-balance. If the market stokes your appetite, there are some very tasty noodle shops tucked behind the market stalls. The continued development of Soho however threatens to send the Gage Street Market as well as Soho’s winding, sloping alleys into the history books.
