World's longest outdoor escalator cost $23 million to build and 20 minutes to reach the top

The longest outdoor escalator in the world just opened and it takes more than 20 minutes to reach the top.

Riding an escalator gives commuters, mall shoppers and travellers a chance to stand still and daydream for a few minutes. You’re moving, but all you have to do is stand there and look around, right?

Well now you can do just that on a 3,000ft escalator that will give you breathtaking views.

But there’s a slight catch. Sure, you can spend your time riding this massive structure daydreaming however, it is actually a series of escalators and elevators, rather than one continuous moving staircase.

The $23 million structure in Wushan, Chongqing, China consists of 21 individual escalators, as well as eight elevators, four moving walkways and several bridges for pedestrians.

Riders of the escalator, dubbed ‘Goddess’, will be carried up 800ft, or around the height of an 80-story skyscraper. According to state media, the structure also spans 905 meters.

A section of the escalator (LIU JUNFENG / Feature China/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

Describing ‘Goddess’ as a ‘first of its kind’ project, Huang Wei, head of the design team for the project and an engineer at China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group, told the Financial Times: “As far as I know, there are no similar projects nationwide, either exceeding or equal to ours, either under construction or already started.”

But why is there a need for such a long pedestrian transportation system? The escalator’s remarkable length is due to the steep and mountainous terrain found in this particular region.

Chongqing is often referred to as a ‘cyberpunk’ city due to its strikingly futuristic and unconventional urban design amongst the terrain — buildings, roads and public spaces have to be stacked and interwoven vertically, creating a skyline and cityscape that looks extraordinary. The escalator is in good company.

The Goddess Escalator is a super long three-dimensional transportation facility (CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

“If you didn’t have such high mountains, it would be impossible to make it that long,” Du Ying, vice-president of existing installation business at Schindler China told the same outlet.

Du Ying said the company has provided some 1,400 escalators to the metro system in Chongqing.

Construction of the Wushan escalator was challenging because of tightly packed underground pipelines and the fact that it had to be built suspended above busy streets that, during rush hour, previously took up to an hour to climb by car, Huang said.

Goddess replaces a long, steep staircase. Earlier design proposals even explored alternatives such as trains or cable cars to help people move up and down the city’s elevation to significantly improve accessibility.

In the end, they chose an escalator and construction of took four years to complete and cost around $23 million.