Ladder Streets
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Ladder streets are narrow streets in Hong Kong comprising steps. Most are found between Central and
Sheung Wan Sheung Wan (Chinese: 上環) is an List of places in Hong Kong, area in Hong Kong, located in the north-west of Hong Kong Island, between Central, Hong Kong, Central and Sai Ying Pun. Administratively, it is part of the Central and Weste ...
and
Mid-Levels Mid-Levels () is an affluent residential area on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is located between Victoria Peak and Central. Residents are predominantly more affluent Hong Kong locals and expatriate professionals. It has a population ...
on
Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island () is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong. The island, known originally and on road signs simply as "Hong Kong", had a population of 1,289,500 and a population density of , . It is the second largest island in Hong Kon ...
, from
Queen's Road Central Queen's Road is a collection of roads along the northern coast of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong, within the limit of Victoria, Hong Kong, Victoria City. It was the first road in Hong Kong, constructed History of Hong Kong (1800s–1930s), by ...
, through
Hollywood Road Hollywood Road ( Chinese: 荷李活道) is a street in Central and Sheung Wan, on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The street runs between Central and Sheung Wan, with Wyndham Street, Arbuthnot Road, Ladder Street, Upper Lascar Row, and Old Bai ...
and a few other cross streets, to
Caine Road Caine Road ( Chinese: 堅道) is a road running through Mid-Levels, Hong Kong. It connects Bonham Road to the west (at the junction with Hospital Road and Seymour Road), and Arbuthnot Road, Glenealy and Upper Albert Road to the east. The roa ...
at the Mid-Levels. Other ladder streets exist outside of the immediate Mid-Levels area, such as Sands Street in
Kennedy Town Kennedy Town is a town and neighbourhood at the western end of Sai Wan on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It was named after Arthur Kennedy (colonial administrator), Arthur Edward Kennedy, the 7th governor of Hong Kong from 1872 to 1877. Adminis ...
. Note that there is indeed a street named
Ladder Street Ladder Street ( zh, t=樓梯街) is a List of streets and roads in Hong Kong, street in the Central and Western District of Hong Kong, consisting entirely of steps and landings formed by granite slabs or concrete paving. It was so named beca ...
, composed entirely of stone steps, in
Sheung Wan Sheung Wan (Chinese: 上環) is an List of places in Hong Kong, area in Hong Kong, located in the north-west of Hong Kong Island, between Central, Hong Kong, Central and Sai Ying Pun. Administratively, it is part of the Central and Weste ...
. While some ladder streets are made only of traditional steps, some at a moderate incline have portions that could be traversed with a rickshaw or cart. These portions had raised stones perpendicular to the street at regular intervals acting like a ratchet so that carts and rickshaws could be easily stopped and parked. This kind of paving can be found on Pottinger Street. The Duddell Street steps were declared a monument by the
Antiquities and Monuments Office The Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) is a Hong Kong government organization established in 1976 under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance to protect and preserve historic monuments. Housed in the Former Kowloon British School, the AMO ...
.Declared Monuments in Hong Kong.
Antiquities & Monuments Office, Leisure & Cultural Services Department,
Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
. 13 October 2017. Retrieved 2018-02-07.


History

Shortly after their arrival in Hong Kong, the British built administrative buildings on the northern shore of the island, in the area which came to be called Victoria and later called Central. The water met the island at what is now Queen's Road. There was no flat land, so during the brief tenure of Sir Henry Pottinger, the first governor of the colony, from 1841 to 1844, streets of steps were planned. The first recorded ladder street was built between Queen's Road and Gough Street in 1845. Remaining ladder streets steps are some of the very oldest structures in the territory. The streets were originally made with the local pink granite. Most have been replaced with concrete.


Ladder streets

File:Old Pottinger Street.jpg, Pottinger St 1930s File:Pottinger Street.JPG, Pottinger St 2005 File:HongKong street.JPG, Mee Lun St 2005 File:Aberdeen Street at Queen's Road Central.jpg, Aberdeen St 2006 File:HK SW Pound Lane stairs.jpg, Pound Ln 2006 File:HK Hollywood Rd old shoe maker.jpg, Lane off Hollywood Rd 2006 File:Sands Street, Hong Kong 1.jpg, Sands St 2007 File:HK Sheung Wan Tai Ping Shan Street Kwong Fook I Tsz 2.JPG, Tai Ping Shan St 2008 File:HK TaiPingShanStreet Steps.JPG, Tai Ping Shan St 2008 File:Sands street stairs.jpg, Sands St 2009 File:HK Sheung Wan Hollywood Road Mee Lun Street Stone Icon 03.JPG, Mee Lun St 2009 File:Duddell Street Steps and Gas Lamps.JPG, Duddell St 2013 File:Sands Street Pedestrian Link (escalator).JPG, Sands St 2014 File:HK 北角半山 North Point Mid-Levels 雲景道 41 Cloud View Road Wan Tin Path outside stairs Apr-2014 view 雲景大廈 Glen Circuit.JPG, Wan Tin Path 2014 File:HK Sheung Wan 上環 磅巷 Pound Lane stairs tree Feb-2016 DSC 008.JPG, Pound Ln 2016 File:HK 上環 Sheung Wan 樓梯街 Ladder Street stairs October 2017 IX1 construction site.jpg, Ladder St 2017


See also

*
Central–Mid-Levels escalator The Central–Mid-Levels escalator and walkway system in Hong Kong is the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world. The system covers over in distance and traverses an elevation of over from bottom to top. It opened in 1993 to p ...
* Step street


References


External links


Travel in the Far East
from
Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

Hong Kong Street Markets
* * * * {{cite web , url=https://stairculture.com/archive/stair/tung-street/ , title=Stairs of Tung Street / Queen's Road Central to Tai Ping Shan Street , last= , first= , date= 2 March 2016, website=Hong Kong Stair Archive , publisher=Stair Culture , access-date= , quote= Central, Hong Kong Sheung Wan Types of streets