In the Chinese municipality of Chongqing, a new outdoor escalator stretching over half a mile has officially opened, climbing steeply through the city’s hilly terrain.
Named the “Goddess,” the architectural feat appears to soar into the sky. The impressive structure runs through the center of Wushan, starting at the base of a steep slope and rising almost vertically, giving the impression that it nearly touches the clouds. Even video footage struggles to capture its full scale and grandeur.
According to the Financial Times, a full ride from bottom to top takes nearly 21 minutes, making it likely the longest outdoor escalator of its kind in the world.
“As far as I know, there are no similar projects nationwide — none exceeding or equaling ours, neither under construction nor previously launched,” said Huang Wei, head of the design team and engineer at China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group. “It’s the first of its kind.”
The “Goddess” is not a single continuous escalator; it consists of roughly two dozen individual escalators and lifts, all integrated into a single system. The moving stairways were produced by Swiss company Schindler at its northern Shanghai factory. Schindler’s Chinese division has supplied around 1,400 escalators to the Chongqing metro system.
The project has already become a local attraction, even in a city known for its iconic 1990s Crown escalator. Reports indicate that around 9,000 people use the Goddess daily, paying roughly $0.43 per hour for a one-way trip. During last month’s Spring Festival, the escalator was used by approximately 450,000 people, officials said.
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