Ngong Ping "Pong" 360 Cable Car
I don't usually write about things that I haven't experienced or at the least have a first party review of from someone I trust. I am making an exception here.
One of the reasons I'm doing so is that nobody I know has ridden on this burgeoning white elephant. The reason most people who have been here for any length of time avoid this tourist attraction is that it has a dismal safety, reliability and customer service reputation.
At first it sounded like a great idea. Ride a cable car to the top of the mountain on which rests the largest sitting Buddha in the world. Passengers can leave from Tsing Yi which is near the airport and is serviced by the MTR. By doing so they avoid the long, twisty ride up to the spot to say nothing of the ferry ride to Mui Wo on the other side of Lantau Island. What could be better?
Unfortunately the ride has been plagued by a series of near-disasters from having to delay its opening because of safety and other issues, to shutting down in mid-operation for two hours, stranding hundreds of people hanging over the hillside, to having a run-away cable car undergoing "safety testing", to poor communication when it has to shut down, to underestimating the force of the winds on the cable car route, etc., etc., etc. Just two days ago, June 26, passengers were stranded for 30 minutes because of a faulty sensor.
The original operator has been ousted and replaced by the MTR corporation, which has about as much experience running a cable car operation and tourist attraction as I do. The Tour Companies are dropping this attraction in droves mostly because they cannot count on being advised if it is not operating which results in a wasted two hour bus ride.
My advice is to Take the Ferry and Lantau Island Tour which takes you from Hong Kong Island to Mui Wo and then provides a van and driver to escort you to various attractions including the Sitting Buddha. the Tai O fishing village and some of the beaches. I've now done this tour 3 times and at HK$150 (US$19.25), it's one of the best touring bargains in Hong Kong.
So enjoy the ride and eliminate worrying if you are going to be able to use Ngong Ping 360 as planned or even worse suffer through one of the ride's frequent failures.
DISCLAIMER: Recently my wife Pam and a friend of hers from the U.S. rode the tram down from the Village to Tsing Yi. They reported that the view was incredible and that they encountered no problems. They were part of a tour so they didn't need to wait in the queue to board. So maybe it's not all bad after all.