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The Gantong Ropeway (Gantong Suodao) is the middle of Cangshan Mountain's cable car routes, rising from a base station near the historic Gantong Temple to a mid-mountain station at roughly 2,600 meters, where it connects to the Jade Belt Cloud Road (Yudai Yunyou Lu), the long clifftide trail that traces the Cangshan slopes. For travelers who want to experience the grandeur of the Cangshan range without committing to the higher-altitude Ximatan line, Gantong offers the most balanced and accessible option.

The cable car itself is a modern detachable six-person gondola with a horizontal run of more than 2,500 meters, gliding above the forest canopy and across a series of gullies and ridges. From the cabin, passengers look down onto the Gantong Temple complex, the dense mixed forest of the lower slopes, and on clear days, all the way out across Erhai Lake to the east-bank hills. The sensation is often compared to drifting through a landscape painting.

At the upper station, the trail network unfolds. The Jade Belt Cloud Road runs roughly flat along the slope, with a paved path and frequent viewpoints, leading to several of Cangshan's signature sights: Qingbixi stream, with its jade-green pools and small waterfalls; Qilongnv Pool, a series of terraced basins; and the Cangshan Grand Canyon viewpoint, where the ridge drops away into a vertical-walled gorge. The famous "Jade Belt Cloud" phenomenon — a horizontal band of cloud that forms along the slope — often appears here and is one of the classic Dali sights.

A typical half-day visit on the Gantong line allows enough time to ride up, walk two to three kilometers of the Jade Belt Road, and descend again. Comfortable shoes are essential for the clifftide trail, as are layers for the cooler mountain air. Photographers will find the best light in mid-morning, when the sun has risen high enough to light the canyon walls without flattening the views of Erhai below.