Ngong Ping 360 is marking its 20th anniversary with a series of special celebrations, including its first-ever evening cable car services and a range of new installations around Ngong Ping Village.
The cable car will extend its services until 10 pm on eight designated days during the summer holidays — July 24 and 25, as well as August 1, 2, 8, 9, 15 and 16.
Tickets for the night rides go on sale starting Tuesday. Passengers with night tickets will receive a mini ultraviolet flashlight to uncover hidden luminous patterns inside the cabins.
To celebrate the milestone, all 108 cable car cabins have been wrapped in anniversary-themed designs. Collaborations with local and international brands feature across 24 cabins, while the remaining 84 cabins are adorned with glow-in-the-dark installations at night.
James Tung Pui-chuen, managing director of Ngong Ping 360, expressed confidence in the appeal of the evening services and expected visitor numbers to grow by a single-digit percentage compared with the same period last year.
“Along the way, you will see the illuminated Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, and if the weather cooperates, you can actually even see through to Macau and Zhuhai along the way. Of course, the Big Buddha is illuminated at night. It’s also an experience that’s not easy for tourists to experience,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Ngong Ping Village features three nostalgia-themed photo spots recreating a traditional mahjong setup, a classic MTR station and a vintage “bing sutt” cafe.
A retired standard cable car cabin has also been repurposed into a neon light installation at the Stupa Square for visitors to take photos.
Tung added that shops in the village will extend their operating hours on the nights when evening cable car services are available.
Visitors can participate in a stamping quest across the village using special ink to create a commemorative glow-in-the-dark postcard.
As night falls, the village will be illuminated to resemble a 1980s Hong Kong neon streetscape. It will host live music performances featuring local singers during the extended hours.
Barbier, a tourist from France who was on a two-week trip to Hong Kong with her boyfriend, described the cable car journey as “peaceful and very cool,” noting that the cabin was covered in themed stickers.“It was really nice, and it must be really beautiful at night with all the neon lights,” she said, adding that they planned to return for another visit next week.
A local visitor surnamed To said he made a special trip to Ngong Ping after learning from the website that the anniversary celebrations had just launched. Having last visited around five years ago, he said the new installations were “very innovative and fresh,” and added that he would recommend the experience to his friends.
