The Ngong Ping 360 cable car is ready to return to service after a five-month rope replacement programme.

It’s been the longest maintenance downtime for the local tourist attraction, which has been running a 6 km cable car between Tung Chung and Ngong Ping since 2006.

The company says the maintenance is complete and the service will restart some time in the next week.

To celebrate the relaunch, Ngong Ping 360 commissioned local designers to create new designs for the passenger cabins using Lantau themes.

It also plans to trial electronic queuing using Facebook and WeChat to reduce waiting times.

The service is coming off a successful year in which it grew its customer numbers by 5.5% despite a 4.5% decline in the number of visitors to Hong Kong.

Photo: Artist Freeman Lau with his design inspired by Tai O dragon boat water parade