The city of Chonquing is famous for its varied terrain and complex infrastructure system. It features the world’s deepest subway station, a suspended train track that passes straight through residential buildings, and it recently became the home of the world’s longest outdoor escalator system.
Known as the Wushan Goddess Escalator, Chongqing’s latest infrastructural marvel consists of 21 escalators, 8 elevators, 4 moving walkways, 2 pedestrian bridges, and 2 overpasses, and is designed to cut the travel time between the upper and lower sections of Shennv Avenue in the Gaotang area of Wushan County from an hour to just 20 minutes.
The height difference between the base and the top of the Wushan Goddess Escalator is around 242 meters (roughly the size of an 80-floor building), but the outdoor escalator system stretches for nearly a kilometer (905 meters).
Starting on February 17th, the Wushan Goddess Escalator entered a paid trial period, with each passenger being charged 3 yuan ($0.4) per ride. At the end of this period, local authorities will decide whether to keep the flat fare or not.
The Wushan Goddess Escalator is expected to greatly improve the efficiency and comfort of Chongqing residents’ travel.
