Hong Kong is renowned for the great number of high-rises, and it has the highest density of lifts--an important facility for high-rises--in the world. According to the statistics published by an international lift periodical, there were more than 46,000 lifts in Hong Kong from 1996 to 2000, which means on average we had one lift for every 144 persons. In the United States, one of the most economically developed countries in the world, the lift-man ratio is 1/421 only. Lift design in Hong Kong is also among the most advanced in the world. According to the government information, we have double-deck lift, inclined lift, curved-door lift and high speed lifts at 9m/s.

According to the statistics in 2007, there were some 60,000 lifts and escalators in Hong Kong. Hong Kong has a dense population and small land area of about 1,070 km2, and most people live in the urban area of 177 km2 only. So we have to live in high-rises. The reliability of lifts and escalators becomes very important. The lift and escalator installations in Hong Kong are mainly from the United States, Britain, Japan, Europe, Korea and China. There is no lift and escalator manufacturer in Hong Kong, and local lift companies are mainly contractors of installation and maintenance, or agencies of lift or escalator manufacturers of other countries.

Lift and escalator engineering services is one of the important industries in Hong Kong. According to the Lifts and Escalators (Safety) Ordinance Chapter 327, only the registered lift/escalator contractors and registered lift/escalator engineers in Hong Kong are authorized to perform maintenance, testing and inspection on lifts and escalators. It is required by the Ordinance Chapter 327 that the owner of every lift or escalator should arrange a registered contractor to perform periodic maintenance including the inspecting, cleaning, oiling and adjusting of the lift or escalator. The lift should be examined at least once a year and be tested on loaded operation at least every 5 years. The escalator should be examined at intervals not exceeding 6 months and be tested at intervals not exceeding 12 months.

At present, there are 48 registered lift/escalator contractors in Hong Kong. According to the Consumer Council's Study Report on Competition in the Market for Lift Maintenance (2002), there were close to 50,000 lifts for commercial and residential buildings in Hong Kong, and the annual maintenance charges tend to be around 3.6 billion dollars. In other words, the monthly maintenance charges per lift are about 6,000 dollars.

In the past few decades, lift and escalator technologies have been advancing. As there are more and more skyscrapers and people's demand for comfortable vertical transport has been increasing, the lift and escalator engineering industry has greater room for development. The extensive scope for lift maintenance work covers the installation of mechanical and electrical installations and computer software programming and applications that need a lot of workers. Frontline technical personnel, therefore, should be highly skilled and knowledgeable; otherwise it will affect the safe operation of lifts.