The Xuefeng Mountain Cableway in Central China’s Hunan Province, designed and manufactured by Beijing Materials Handling Research Institute Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China National Machinery Industry Corporation, has successfully passed its acceptance inspection and begun trial operations.
The Xuefeng Mountain Cableway in Hunan Province has successfully passed its acceptance inspection and begun trial operations. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
As the longest alpine ropeway in Asia, the cableway stretches 7,600 meters with a vertical rise of 1,158 meters. It is equipped with 51 towers and 114 eight-passenger cabins. The cableway can operate at a maximum speed of 6 meters per second and carry up to 1,200 passengers per hour in a single direction. Its lower station is adjacent to Xupu South Station on the Shanghai-Kunming High-Speed Railway in Huaihua City, with a mid-station in Huanglong Village, Beidouxi Town in Xupu County, and an upper station at the Beidou Mountain scenic area in Longhui County, Shaoyang City, over 1,500 meters above sea level. Linking two prefecture-level cities with a single ropeway is a rare feat in the history of ropeway construction in China.
As a key national tourism infrastructure project, construction of the Xuefeng Mountain Cableway began on March 1, 2020. The engineering team pioneered a “mid-station dual-drive system”, which scientifically divides the line into two sections. This system provides redundant backup power and enables emergency braking within seconds, ensuring safe and smooth operation across the kilometer-high elevation difference.
It’s estimated that the project will boost local tourism revenue by 300 percent and create over 10,000 jobs, serving as a model project for rural revitalization.
(Executive editor: Yuan Ting)
