Peak Tram - Asia's First Funicular
Photo: Ank Kumar, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
A stop on Hong Kong: Star Ferry to the Peak, a free self-guided tour.
Before 1888, anyone heading up to the Peak went on foot or was carried in a sedan chair. Then Alexander Findlay Smith, who had proposed a mountain railway years earlier, saw this line open in 1888 as the first funicular railway in Asia. Workers hauled much of the heavy equipment and rail up the slope by hand.
Today's cars, the sixth generation, entered service in 2022 and carry up to 210 passengers. The line runs about 1.4 kilometers, climbing from 27 meters to 396 meters above sea level, with sections as steep as a 48 percent grade. Many riders notice an odd effect on the way up: the high-rises outside seem to lean toward the hill.
Pay with your Octopus card or buy a ticket at the terminus, and be ready for queues at busy times. Grab a seat on the right-hand side going up for the harbor views.
Getting here: Leave Tai Kwun by its upper gate on Arbuthnot Road and follow Lower Albert Road east to Garden Road, then walk uphill to the lower terminus, about 15 minutes. A taxi is an easy alternative.
Did you know?: From 1908 to 1949 the two front seats of the tram were reserved for the Governor of Hong Kong.
Photo op: From the right-hand side, shoot back down the track as the car tilts, with the towers of Central dropping away below.
More on Wikipedia: Peak Tram
Stops on this tour
- Clock Tower - Last Call for the Kowloon Terminus
- Avenue of Stars - Hong Kong Cinema by the Harbor
- Star Ferry - Ten Minutes Across Victoria Harbour
- Statue Square - Named for Statues Mostly Gone
- Court of Final Appeal - Justice on a Timber Raft
- HSBC and Bank of China - Two Banks, Two Landmarks
- Mid-Levels Escalator - Riding Uphill Through SoHo
- Man Mo Temple - Incense Coils on Hollywood Road
- PMQ - Police Flats Turned Design Hub
- Tai Kwun - Police Station, Court and Jail
- Peak Tram - Asia's First Funicular
- Victoria Peak - The View That Built a Neighborhood