WHEN Chris Hutchinson from Corby, Northamptonshire, the U.K., toured Shenzhen with his wife and three kids recently, he was amazed by the convenience of a Meituan takeout service that airdropped his cup of Starbucks drink right in the middle of a park in Nanshan District. He captured the experience in a short video that went viral on WeChat Channels.

Such convenience is part of normal life for locals like Ms. Lin, who often takes her child to play in Shenzhen Bay Park and regularly uses drone delivery services that can get her purchases in as little as 10 minutes from the Coastal City mall, two kilometers away, after placing an order.

In Shenzhen, drone delivery services have covered tourist destinations, campuses, office buildings, and parks, greatly improving the efficiency of logistics. In Luohu’s Shuibei, the largest gold and jewelry trading center in China, the use of drones reduces a 30-minute courier service by road to just 12 minutes, delivering the precious goods safely from a processing base in Buxin to clients. The flexible drone service connects the Buxin base with Shuibei as well as a jewelry industrial park in Lilang, Longgang District.

The drone delivery services have also expanded to connect Shenzhen with neighboring cities. In April, the first cargo drone completed a 45-minute flight, delivering goods over 71.7 kilometers across the sea from Chiwan Port in Shekou to Xiaolan, an industrial base in Zhongshan City. Statistics from Shenzhen’s transportation bureau reveal that 203 drone routes are currently operating in the city, connecting 121 destinations. More than 780,000 cargo drone flights have been made since the beginning of last year.

In addition to logistics, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft have been employed to trial a novel speedy means of passenger transport. In February, an eVTOL aircraft took off from Shekou Cruise Homeport in Shenzhen bound for Zhuhai Jiuzhou Port. Developed by Shanghai-based AutoFlight, the four-passenger aircraft conducted a demonstration flight on the 55-kilometer route, significantly reducing the usual 2.5 to 3-hour road trip between the two cities to just 20 minutes.

On May 25, XPeng Aeroht, a leading player in the aerial mobility sector, allowed its flying car, the two-seater X2, to fly over the Shenzhen central business district, providing a glimpse into the future of urban transportation. The craft flew around Shenzhen Talent Park at an altitude of 30 meters.

Although an official definition has yet to be agreed upon, the concept of a “low-altitude economy” is generally understood by economists as a range of business activities occurring within airspace up to 1,000 meters above ground. It encompasses both manned and unmanned civilian aircraft services used for passenger transport, air tourism, cargo delivery, as well as agriculture, forestry, and public services such as firefighting.

Shenzhen is committed to advancing new economic sectors, including the low-altitude economy and intelligent connected vehicles, as stated in the municipal government’s 2024 work report. This initiative aims to leverage “small scene innovation” to drive “large industry development,” accelerating the establishment of a “Sky City” with integrated low-altitude management, panoramic applications, and industrial clustering.

The growing market and government support have attracted foreign players to settle in the city. Lilium, the German developer of the world’s first eVTOL jet and a pioneer in regional air mobility, has announced a partnership with Bao’an District on June 10. The district pledges a subsidy of up to 30 million yuan (US$4.13 million) to qualified firms in the sector.

This newly sealed partnership marks the establishment of Lilium’s Asia-Pacific regional headquarters through its newly formed Chinese entity, Powerful Wing.

The market scale of China’s low-altitude economy, considered a strategic emerging industry, reached 505.95 billion yuan in 2023, up 33.8% year on year, and is projected to exceed 1 trillion yuan in 2026, according to a report by market research firm CCID Consulting.

The report predicts that the eVTOL industry will continue rapid growth in the coming years, with the market scale expected to reach 9.5 billion yuan in 2026, driven by the swift issuance of airworthiness certifications by authorities.

(Li Dan)