23:11 – To be or not to be: The ‘Not To Be Used As Passenger Lift’ Freight Lift
To be or not to be:「不可被用作乘客升降機」的斬頭門

Listen 來聽 /

23:11 – To be or not to be: The ‘Not To Be Used As Passenger Lift’ Freight Lift

soundpocket is located in Lee Chung Industrial Building (Lee Chung), a building with a manually-operated, vertical-sliding, and half-upward-half-downward-opening freight lift. As this freight lift was my destination, I soon encountered the first dilemma: a notice stating: ‘Not To Be Used As Passenger Lift’. Long standing in front of this notice, amongst the surrounding hustle and bustle, I dared not take the lift. Lingering in front of it, I attempted to get into conversation with its guard – Kam. In Cantonese, these vertical-sliding freight lifts are named ‘Decapitation Doors’, and all Decapitation Doors in San Po Kong Eight Streets are manually-operated. Each lift is made up of two doors – one outer and another inner, both vertical-sliding and half-upward-half-downward-opening. Contrary to the folding-gate freight lifts, Decapitation Doors in the Eight Streets do not come with a lift operator. Instead, they are looked after by guards who monitor their operation from the lobby. Kam shared with me that the operation of Decapitation Doors is indeed quite simple: one must open and close the door gently, and open the door only when hearing the sound signal upon arrival. “Some people say they are unable to hear the sound signal. If that’s the case, you should just wait, and count to three before opening the doors.”, she said. Kam is often annoyed by the lift’s breakdown due to people’s inappropriate use of the lift.

 

Be gentle, a sound signal, and count to three.

 

Repeating these three points by heart, I waited until the lobby was empty late one night to take a Decapitation Door ride. Facing the heavy doors to be handled with care, I concentrated mainly on my arms when operating them lightly, and made no sound when closing them. The interior of the lift is a silver stainless-steel box, with a small rectangular window—where people can check their location—on the upper-centre portion of the door. As the lift descended, very little could be heard in its enclosed interior – not even the spinning fan; shivering in this silence with the fear of a lift incident, I focused only on the sound signal in order to avoid any operating mistake, the sound signal became the most imperative part of this lift-ride. Under this fear and acute focus, time flies and – 

 

“Ding.”

 

Hearing the sound signal, gently operating the doors and making no sound, the ride in the Decapitation Door ended with silence.

 

23:11 – To be or not to be:「不可被用作乘客升降機」的斬頭門

soundpocket 座落於以「斬頭門」為貨(車立)的利中工業大廈,帶著以(車立)為目的地的想法走到利中,很快便遇到第一個困難:「不可被用作乘客升降機」 。站在「斬頭門」前看著這個告示,下午是搬運貨物的繁忙時段,我完全不敢佔用它。在(車立)外徘徊,我嘗試與「斬頭門」管理人琴姐搭話 —— 「斬頭門」是垂直趟門升降機的通俗叫法,新蒲崗工廈的幾部「斬頭門」都要以人手操作,有外門與內門,兩塊門板向上下開啟;與拉閘貨(車立)不一樣,八街內的「斬頭門」沒有揸(車立)人同上同落,但每一部皆至少有一位管理人在大堂監察(車立)的使用與運作。琴姐說,「斬頭門」的操作其實很簡單,除了注意輕力開閂(車立)門,到達樓層時(車立)內會有提示聲,聲音響過後才可以開門。「有啲人話聽唔到喎,咁你就等佢停咗之後數三秒,等三秒之後先開門。」很多人不知道這細節,琴姐常因「斬頭門」故障而感到煩躁。

 

輕力、聲響、三秒。

 

在心裏默念這三個重點,我等待深夜時分無人之時走進「斬頭門」。面對著兩道頗重卻不能隨意用力開合的門,我把所有注意力都放在手臂如何控制力度,如何緩慢地把門拉上和拉下,並在門合上時放輕至不會發出任何聲音的程度。(車立)的內部是一個銀色的不鏽鋼盒子,(車立)門較中上位置有一個讓人查看樓層的小長方型窗口。密封的「斬頭門」下降時很安靜,幾乎連風扇聲也沒有,靜默中我帶著對困(車立)的恐懼,集中留意貨(車立)停定後提示可以開(車立)門的聲音,心裏只想避免因操作失誤而困(車立),那個聲音成為乘搭這(車立)最重要的一部分。在恐懼與極度專注的情況下,乘搭「斬頭門」的過程一瞬即逝,瞬間就出現 ——

 

「叮」

 

提示聲響起,溫柔地開閂(車立)門,慢慢地把內外門合上,以無聲結束這一程「斬頭門」(車立)河。


:: Open 24 Hours — (Freight) Lift-ride in San Po Kong Eight Streets
24小時營業 — 在新蒲崗八街遊(貨)(車立) 河
::

00:00 – Lifts as the Destination 以升降機為目的地
09:00 – Overhearing the Lift Operator’s and Passengers’ Daily Conversations
偷聽揸(車立)人與乘客的日常(對)話

15:15 – Sleepwalking with the Lifts’ Reverberation: Luk Hop Industrial Building
在六合工業大廈的(車立)聲迴響中夢遊

23:11 – To be or not to be: The ‘Not To Be Used As Passenger Lift’ Freight Lift
To be or not to be:「不可被用作乘客升降機」的斬頭門

24:00 – Murmur 念念