TIAN TAN BUDDHA 1

Ngong Ping 360 (Chinese: 昂坪360) is a bicable gondola lift on Lantau Island in Hong Kong

It consists of the Ngong Ping Cable Car (previously Ngong Ping 360 Skyrail) and the Ngong Ping Village-a retail and entertainment centre adjacent to the cable car's upper station

Ngong Ping 360 connects Tung Chung on the north coast of Lantau and itself linked to central Hong Kong by the Tung Chung line with the Ngong Ping area in the hills above

This is home to the Po Lin Monastery and the Tian Tan Buddha-both already significant tourist attractions in their own right. Before Ngong Ping 360's opening, the only access was via a mountain road and bus service

Ngong Ping 360 is owned by the MTR Corporation-the operator of Hong Kong's rail system and operated by a directly owned subsidiary of the MTR Corporation

HISTORY
Conception, Construction and opening
Construction of the cable car project started at the beginning of 2004. Ngong Ping 360 resumed a trial-run of 7 days from 30 August 2006. The project director at MTR Corp and senior executives of Skyrail were at the soft opening of the facility on 18 September. In keeping with feng shui traditions

Skyrail-ITM sold just 1,688 tickets for the maiden day's run on 18 September at HK$88 each, the numbers being considered lucky

Henry Tang officiated at the grand opening of the attraction on 9 November 2006

OPERATION
It opened officially on 31 December 2007
In April 2009, the company introduced its premium rate Crystal Cabin service, using glass-bottom cabins

Ngong Ping Cable Car/Stations
Ngong Ping Cable Car is a 5.7-kilometre (3.5 mi) long bi-cable gondola lift system (referred to by its operators as a "cable car") linking between Tung Chung (where it connects the MTR Tung Chung station) and Ngong Ping (where the Po Lin Monastery and Tian Tan Buddha are located)

Between the two terminals at Tung Chung (Tung Chung Terminal) and Ngong Ping, the lift system runs across the southern shore of the Hong Kong International Airport island and Nei Lak Shan, with eight towers including the stations

Five of the towers are located within the country park

The cable car journey offers a 25-minute aerial alternative to the current one-hour journey by Tung Chung Road allowing visitors to glide across Tung Chung Bay and up to Lantau Island towards Ngong Ping Plateau

The cableway starts at the Tung Chung Terminal, runs across Tung Chung Bay to Airport Island Angle Station on Chek Lap Kok, where it turns through about 60 degrees before returning across Tung Chung Bay

It then runs up the Lantau North Country Park to another angle station near Nei Lak Shan (Nei Lak Shan Angle Station), before finally descending to the Ngong Ping Terminal

During the 25-minute journey-travellers can see panoramic views over the North Lantau Country Park, the South China Sea, Hong Kong International Airport, the Tung Chung valley, Ngong Ping Plateau and surrounding terrain and waterways

As visitors approach Ngong Ping, they can see The Big Buddha and the Po Lin Monastery

DESIGN
the line uses a continuous circulating twin cable aerial ropeway system, technically described as a bicable gondola lift

The 5.7 km cableway changes direction twice at the two angle stations, one on the south shore of Chek Lap Kok; the other west of Nei Lak Shan within the Lantau North Country Park

Whilst the gondola cabins are temporarily detached from the cables at each angle station there are no passenger loading or unloading facilities at these points

The cableway is supported by 8 towers

The cabin has a modern design with seating for 10 and standing room for another 7

The system has a capacity of 3500 people per hour in each direction

A continuous circulating bi-cable aerial ropeway system, where the track cable acts as a rail in the sky and the haul cable pulls the cabins, allows long spans between towers

It is the first of its type to be installed in Hong Kong

The cable car line offers two levels of service based on different cabin designs, branded Standard Cabins and Crystal Cabins

The Crystal Cabins are distinguished by their glass bottoms and are charged at a premium rate

Both sets of cabins circulate on the same cable, with passengers being segregated by queuing systems at both terminals

Ngong Ping Village
The Ngong Ping Village, built next to the Ngong Ping Cable Car Terminal, occupies a 15000 square metre site and has been designed to mirror and uphold the cultural and spiritual veracity of the Ngong Ping area

Traditional Chinese architectural designs are a feature of the Ngong Ping Village-an assortment of shopping and dining experiences on top of a number of key attractions including Walking with Buddha, the Monkey's Tale Theatre and the Ngong Ping Tea House

Most crowded days-Chinese New Year, Christmas, Buddha's birthday

Ngong Ping Village's international cable car gallery has cable car replicas from various countries including China, Switzerland, Italy, Brazil, Austria, France, Italy, Germany etc.