Ngong Ping 360

Ngong Ping 360 (Chinese: 昂坪360; Jyutping: ngong4 ping4 saam1 luk6 ling4, Cantonese) is a bicable gondola lift on Lantau Island in Hong Kong. Intended to improve tourism to the area, the aerial lift was previously known as Tung Chung Cable Car Project before acquiring the Ngong Ping 360 brand in April 2005. It consists of the Ngong Ping Cable Car, formerly known as the 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. It was built by Leitner Ropeways and was originally operated by Skyrail-ITM. Skyrail-ITM was removed from the project after an investigation following an incident in June 2007. It is now operated by a directly owned subsidiary of the MTR Corporation.

Following a feasibility study, the Hong Kong government issued an invitation in 2000 for detailed proposals and tender for a 30-year franchise on a Build-Operate-Transfer basis for the global project of operation, management and maintenance of a cable car system linking Tung Chung and Ngong Ping on Lantau Island. The Tourism Commission declared the objective of the project was to increase the range of attractions to visitors to enhance Hong Kong's position as a leading tourist destination in the region. Target timing was to identify a successful proponent by the end of 2001 and to commence operation of the cable car system before early 2006.

Construction of the cable car project started at the beginning of 2004. The system was originally scheduled to open on 23 January 2006, but on 17 June 2006, during the trial-run with the maximum of 109 gondola cabins on the cables, a cabin arriving at Ngong Ping station had a slight collision with a late departing cabin. The entire system was automatically halted by the safety system, leaving 500 volunteers trapped for two hours. As a result, Skyrail-ITM postponed the opening day to fix the technical problems, tests and emergency staff drills.

After two months of improvement works and repair for the damages made by Typhoon Prapiroon in August 2006, 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.

After the commencement of service, system failures still occurred occasionally. Between its opening on 18 September and 27 October, eight service suspensions were recorded, prompting a legislative panel to challenge the operator's continued operation.

A serious incident occurred on 11 June 2007, during a brake test which was part of the annual examination of the cable, when an empty cabin fell off the cable and crashed into a hilly area near Chek Lap Kok South Road. Despite the fact that there were no injuries caused, an investigation resulted in the operating company and its CEO being charged with criminal negligence related to the incident, although the CEO's case was later delayed, and the charges against him eventually dropped altogether. Skyrail-ITM was removed as operator, fined HK$5,000, and the MTR Corporation took over operational responsibility. The line remained out of service until 23 December when it underwent one week of trial run involving 40,000 visitors riding for free. It reopened officially on 31 December 2007.

In April 2009, the company introduced its premium rate Crystal Cabin service, using glass-bottom cabins.