Reconstruction work on a cable car on Jiuhua Mountain — one of China’s four major Buddhist resorts --- in Anhui province, began on July 21.

The 1,165-meter tramway is 469 meters above the ground and will be a more important connection between the mountain’s Minyuan and Tiantai scenic areas when completed. The line’s cars can move 800 people in an hour, with the one-way trip taking only 4.4 minutes.

Its transportation capacity will be 3.5 times greater after the work is completed, officials said.

The upper end of the tramway is on a mountain pass on the southern side of the Muyu Summit, and the lower end is just to the north of the Dajue Temple.

Officials explained that the construction work is part of a larger plan for the Mount Jiuhua scenic area, which will improve transportations and tourist capacity when it is completed.

The project is expected to cost around 100 million yuan and to be operational at the end of 2012.

By Xu Xiao (chinadaily.com.cn)