Deep beneath the bustling streets of Chongqing, China, lies Hongyancun Station, holding the title of the world’s deepest subway station. But a ride on its elevator might come with a surprising side effect – clogged ears.
The culprit? Ear barotrauma, caused by a pressure difference between the middle ear and the surrounding environment. We experience this during airplane takeoffs and landings, or mountain drives. At a staggering 116 meters (equivalent to 40 floors) underground, Hongyancun Station creates a significant pressure change for passengers using the elevator.
This unique station sits on Lines 5 and 9 of the Chongqing Metro, nestled between Jingwei Avenue and Shabin Road in the Yuzhong District. The city’s hilly terrain, a labyrinth of winding roads and buildings clinging to slopes, necessitated such a deep station.
Hongyan Village, on the south bank of the Jialingjiang River near the Hualong Bridge, resides atop one of these hills. To connect it to the subway network, engineers had to delve exceptionally deep. Reportedly, climbing from the station’s bottom to the surface took a staggering 38 minutes, akin to a daily mountain trek for workers during construction, which itself took a grueling 400 days to complete in 2022.
The station’s depth has transformed it into a tourist attraction. Visitors flock to experience the descent, opting for either the eight long escalators or the high-speed elevator. However, the elevator’s rapid descent is known to cause ear popping due to the pressure change. Interestingly, the elevator ride takes just 53 seconds, compared to over 10 minutes on the escalators.
So, if you find yourself in Chongqing and decide to explore Hongyancun Station, be prepared for a potential earache during the elevator ride. But hey, a little discomfort is a small price to pay for a trip to the world’s deepest subway station!
