During the “Golden Week” travel peak in China, a video surfaced online showing tourists stranded on a cable car at the Tianmen Mountain Scenic Area in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province. The tourists were suspended in mid-air for an hour as the cable car experienced multiple stoppages, causing them to feel like they were swinging in the sky. Similar incidents had also occurred in mid-July and late August at the same scenic area.
On the evening of October 5th, a netizen posted a video claiming that tourists were trapped on a cable car at the Tianmen Mountain Scenic Area in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province. Some tourists complained about being stuck in the cable car, hanging in mid-air for an hour. Others mentioned the cable car experiencing frequent stoppages during operation, making them feel like they were on a swing in the sky. Some tourists reported that there was no update on the situation, no drinking water, and no medical assistance during the malfunction.
However, the screens at the scenic area displayed a message saying, “The cable car is temporarily stopped for maintenance and will resume operation soon”.
The Tianmen Mountain Scenic Area in Zhangjiajie reported on October 6th that at 6:40 pm on October 5th, a sudden electrical and communication fault occurred in the section 1 of the Tianmen Mountain cable car line (from the city center to the middle station). The scenic area activated its emergency response plan, started the emergency drive mode, and operated at a reduced speed. At the same time, the scenic area dispatched shuttle buses to evacuate tourists from section 2 of the cable car line (from the mountaintop to the middle station). The cable car malfunction was rectified at 7:58 pm that day, and normal operations were restored across the line.
It is worth noting that this was not the first time the Tianmen Mountain cable car experienced a malfunction this year. On August 21st, the same line experienced a malfunction with its control system electronic components, resulting in tourists being stranded for over 2 hours, with several suffering from heatstroke symptoms.
On July 17th, during a pre-opening maintenance check, abnormalities were found in the cable car system, leading to approximately 2500 tourists waiting in line for over an hour, even though no passengers were on board.
The frequent malfunctions of the Tianmen Mountain cable car have raised questions among the public regarding the maintenance of the scenic area’s equipment, emergency response mechanisms, and safety management. Many netizens pointed out that the repeated apologies from the management exposed systemic flaws, urging for enhanced equipment maintenance and third-party supervision.
Publicly available information indicates that the Tianmen Mountain cable car line is 7455 meters long with a one-way travel time of approximately 28 minutes.