The government found that much of the east-west traffic in the area arose from north-south travel demand, as the steep topography did not allow for major roads to be built straight up the hill.

[5] The Highways Department commissioned Maunsell Consultants Asia to draw up a detailed design for the system.

[7] Construction began at the end of February 1991, and was carried out by a joint venture between Hong Kong contractor Paul Y.

[10] The opening of the escalator fuelled the proliferation of new restaurants and other commercial operations in the intermediate levels, and contributed to the development of the "SoHo" entertainment district.

[12] In November 1996, the Director of Audit issued a report that called the project a "white elephant", saying that it failed to achieve the primary objective of reducing traffic between the Mid-Levels and Central, as well as over-running its budget by 153 per cent.

The Director of Audit blamed it for failing to address the risks and complexities associated with the project in the pre-tender estimates, and costs rising because of delays.

[13] The escalators exist because Hong Kong Island is dominated by steep, hilly terrain, which makes it the home of several unusual methods of transport up and down the slopes.

[6] The total travel time is twenty minutes, but many people walk while the escalator moves to shorten their trip.

[16] Due to the complex terrain, parts of the system run on elevated concrete structures, while other sections sit at ground level.

[6] The moving walkways have a tread width of one metre (3.28 feet), allowing faster pedestrians to pass slower users.

[16] All the walkways (except for at-grade road crossings) are covered to protect users from the rain, although the sides are open to the elements.

The roofing structure was designed to be visually attractive, and incorporates translucent polycarbonate to allow sunlight to illuminate the walkways.