Slow, cheap and double-decked, the trams have outlived every faster way of crossing the north shore of Hong Kong Island. A photo essay from first run to last.
The trams are the slowest way to cross the north side of Hong Kong Island, which is exactly why people still take them. You sit upstairs, the windows open, and the city goes past at a speed you can read.
Morning: an early tram with its route number lit, on an almost empty street.Photo: Jakub Hałun / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0Midday: passengers board at a Sai Ying Pun stop, one door in, one door out.Photo: Leesia / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Inside the box
The lower deck is built for short hops, with bench seats and a turnstile at the back. The upper deck is where the ride becomes a view.
The lower deck at night, lit warm against the street.Photo: GEMALCILA thamrop / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0Wooden seats in the newer cars keep the shape of the old ones.Photo: GEMALCILA thamrop / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
After dark
At night the trams turn into moving windows. The advertising wraps glow, the signs outside reflect on the glass, and the bell sounds a little louder on quieter streets.
A glass-sided special car, lit from within.Photo: EWOJN alane Bosuu 038 / Wikimedia Commons, CC0Long exposure: a tram crossing the city's light.Photo: Timon Studler derstudi / Wikimedia Commons, CC0Last runs: an open-balcony heritage car heads for the depot.Photo: LN9267 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Take the tram once end to end and you will understand the north shore better than any map can show you. Take it every day and you will know which seat catches the breeze.
Long before the offices of Central open, one of the city's oldest street markets is already hours into its day. We spent a week of early mornings on the slope.
