World's longest cable car system inaugurated in Vietnam

The world's longest three-rope cable car system was inaugurated in Vietnam's Lao Cai province on Tuesday.

With a total length of 6,292.5 metres, the system was recognised by the Guinness World Records as the world's longest three-rope cable car route, and also the world's biggest height gap between its departure and arrival stations of 1,410 metres, Xinhua news agency reported.

The system, connecting Muong Hoa Valley and Fansipan mountain in Lao Cai, some 250 km northwest of capital Hanoi, has a capacity of 2,000 passengers per hour with each cabin accommodating 35 people.

The system shortens the travel time to the peak of the 3,143-metre Fansipan mountain, which is dubbed the Roof of Indo-China, to 15 minutes. Construction of the cable car system began in November 2013.

The cable car system is expected to help boost the number of tourists to Lao Cai's Sa Pa town by 30 percent to 40 percent every year, reaching around three million by 2020.