BEIJING (AFP – Urdu Point / Pakistan Point News – March 6, 2026) In front of the vivid night painting, horses gallop over the sky of Hefei City, the capital of Anhui Province in central China.
What sets this Guinness World Record-breaking performance apart is not only the sheer greatness, but also the performers: the drones.
This impressive excerpt from a Chinese Spring Festival ceremony last month offers a glimpse into this rapidly expanding industry in China, dubbed the “low-altitude economy,” which refers to low-altitude aviation activities that integrate drones, electric helicopters, helicopters, and related infrastructure.
As application scenarios expand to province-level regions and infrastructure improves, the scale of this strategic sector is expected to exceed RMB 1 trillion in 2026.
For the third year in a row, this strategic sector was highlighted in the Chinese government’s work report. The document was submitted on Thursday to China’s National People’s Congress Names It is an emerging core industry, alongside integrated circuits, aviation, aerospace and biomedicine.
“The low-altitude industry is shifting from technological exploration to large-scale application,” said Chen Shuxian, deputy to the National People’s Congress of China. Data from business intelligence provider ITJUZI records an additional 255 investment events in the sector in 2025, up 71% year-on-year.
Guangdong Province, which is home to more than 15,000 low-altitude aviation companies, accounting for more than 30% of the country’s total, is at the forefront of these efforts. The province also dominates the global market, with consumer drones accounting for 70% market share and industrial drones 50% globally. In 2025, drone exports from Guangdong rose by 40.9%. The EH216-S, a product of Guangdong-based EHang, has become the world’s first electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to receive manned flight certification.
“Globally, one of the most impactful scenarios for Chinese drones is drone formation bids, with two Shenzhen-based companies controlling 80% of the global share,” said Sun Yang, vice president of the Shenzhen Drone Industry Association.
“Based on an entire industrial chain, the cost of a single component is one-fifth to one-sixth of the cost in the United States. There is a saying that walk through Huaqiangbei, a sub-district of Guangdong province and one of the largest electronics markets in the world, and you will get all the parts and components needed for a drone. In the future, we expect more drones to serve international markets at the consumer level,” he added.
China has already seen widespread application at the industrial level, from agricultural and forest pest control, urban patrol and management, to emergency response, and logistics transportation.
According to the China Information Industry Association, more than 300,000 agricultural drones have been deployed across the country by November 2025, covering more than 495 million acres for pest control, fertilization and air transportation.
The sector is shifting to a multi-mission model, with drones now involved in activities such as sowing, fertilizing, lifting, field inspection and disaster assessment. In line inspection, drones in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province achieved 100% coverage of power transmission lines. In complex terrain, the Tianma-1000 transport drone successfully completed its test flight in January as China’s first large-capacity, medium/low-cost unmanned aerial transport platform, designed for high-altitude and complex terrain.
Consumers are also becoming increasingly involved. Meituan, the Chinese retail e-commerce giant, has completed 740,000 commercial drone deliveries in cities such as Shenzhen, Shanghai and Dubai by September 2025, driven by demand for high-frequency services such as food Instant delivery, medicines and retail.
Aviation Sports And trial consumption continues to heat up. Air tour in the first nine months of 2025 a job There were 672,000 sightseeing passengers, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 27.7%.
“China’s advantages lie in our strong cost control and research capabilities. We have top institutions such as Beihang University, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Northwestern Polytechnic University, which are famous for producing the best talents in aviation. Another key factor is our integration between industry, academia and research. In 2025, we proposed to establish a dedicated UAV department in universities, with more than 100 top universities.” education Institutions that submit proposals. Sun said that the second half of the year will witness the registration of a large number of students in these specialized programs.
Between 2015 and 2024, the number of patent applications in China’s low-altitude economy increased more than eleven-fold. In the first half of 2025 alone, 11,165 new patent applications were filed, representing a 51.6% increase year-on-year, CEN reported.
“The next focus is on improving control systems for electric aircraft and helicopters and battery technology. This includes developments in solid-state batteries, which will enable longer flight duration. If they can extend their stay in the air from 15 minutes to one hour or more, this will not only enhance the sightseeing experience, but they will also become viable for sustainable transportation operations.”
On the infrastructure front, low-altitude areas and flight paths will continue to develop. In 2026, many regions will work to develop the planning of these areas, following the momentum achieved last year. For example, Nanjing approved 166 new air zones in the first 10 months of 2025, covering more than 2,000 square kilometers, and 28 new flight paths extending 556 kilometers. According to Guosen Securities, from 2025 to 2030, the total investment in construction of public airports and electric aircraft landing pads across China will reach $599.6. one billion yuanMore than 800 new landing points are expected to be added in 2026 alone.