The world’s longest escalator – another way to get high in Hong Kong

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benefits, Central District, Escalators, Hong Kong, Mid-levels

If I hadn’t gone to Hong Kong I wouldn’t have had to use the world’s longest escalator system that every day takes 55,000 people between the Central and the Western District.

During my first days here, before I had a home, I stayed with a friend who lived on top of the escalator. I got to experience both the convenience of being able to move up smoothly and the inconvenience of coming back after midnight, having to walk up the system that takes 20 minutes to get up with – when it’s working.

Benefits of Taichi

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arthritis, benefits, elderly care, health, joints, qi

Westerners often look at Taichi as a form of healthy exercise — and relate it to the long life of Chinese people. But why exactly is it so healthy? There are several reasons of its benefits.

The first one is simply the physical activity. Although you don’t really run out of breath when you practice, you can feel a light sweat beginning after 15 or 20 minutes or practice. As Ms Yip, a taichi teacher, often says, it’s because it makes you use gently but deeply your muscles. “You always have to keep your legs bent, that’s the key to a fluid motion and it’s what makes Taichi a physical activity,” she says. “Slow moves” doesn’t necessarily mean “effortless exercise”; as long as the whole body moves to its full motion — extension of the arms and legs for instance — it benefits the body.