Ladder Street, Hong Kong

Ladder Street is a continuous ascent of granite steps that reflects the city’s early struggle to build streets on steep, mountainous terrain. Created in the mid-19th century, when Sheung Wan was one of the first Chinese residential districts on Hong Kong Island, the street was engineered entirely as a stone staircase because the hillside was too steep for traditional roads. Much of this original construction survives today, making Ladder Street a rare example of Hong Kong’s earliest urban design.

As you climb, the street reveals layers of history—ancestral shops, temple structures, and century-old institutions—woven into one of the city’s most atmospheric pedestrian routes. Near the lower section, you’ll walk past the Bridges Street Market, a restored 1950s Bauhaus-style structure easily recognizable by its curved concrete facade and horizontal windows. Continue climbing toward Caine Lane and you’ll see the red-brick Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences rising beside the steps — one of the neighborhood’s most impressive heritage buildings.

Ladder Street begins near Queen’s Road Central and climbs sharply toward the Mid-Levels, linking several historic areas including Hollywood Road, Cat Street and Po Hing Fong street. Though the granite steps themselves have remained largely unchanged since the mid-19th century, the surrounding buildings have been repeatedly rebuilt, creating a contrast between old and new.