iSurprise Ladder Street

Climbing a ladder

Walking up Ladder Street is like climbing a ladder; in 10 minutes you’ll climb to an elevation of over 300 metres.

There is in fact a series of ‘ladder streets’ all the way from Kennedy Town to the Mid-Levels connecting the busy Queen’s Road (referred to as the ‘bazaar area’ in the old days) with the residential neighbourhoods higher up the mountain along Robinson, Caine, Bonham and Pokfulam Road.

In those days - prior to the convenience of the Mid-Levels Escalator - people commuted up and down by sedan chair and the design of the ‘ladder streets’ was to make it easier for the ‘coolies’, the strong men who carried these chairs, enabling them to traverse the steep slopes. Luckily the design also incorporated a number of flat sections with benches for the coolies to rest.