Step onto the Peak Tram today, and something strange happens as it climbs. The skyscrapers outside the window seem to lean and tilt toward the mountain as if they are going to fall over. This isn’t your imagination. The tram’s steep angle and tilted window frames can confuse the brain about which way is vertical, according to a study titled ‘Hong Kong Skyscrapers Appear to Fall in Real-World Illusion’ published in Psychological Science by Chia-huei Tseng and colleagues at the University of Hong Kong. At night, the illusion grows stronger because there are fewer cues outside to correct it. It’s a fitting quirk for a ride that has defied expectations since opening in 1888.
Life on the peak before the tram
