Delivery giant Meituan says its drone service will transport food, drinks, and other goods such as medical supplies to customers in a remote area of the Great Wall of China.
China is the world's largest producer and exporter of civilian drones. Drones offer convenience to people living in both cities and rural areas, places that are often hard to access.
The Great Wall drone flight extended from the rooftop of a nearby hotel to a watchtower at Badaling, the most scenic section of this massive structure.
Opened in 2023, the expanded area has no shops. Therefore, drones can deliver a variety of items, including emergency supplies, to visitors in just 5 minutes, compared to 50 minutes by road.
According to Meituan, the drone can operate in windy and light rain, carrying a maximum of 2.3kg per trip. Delivery fees are very low, only 4 RMB (approximately 14,000 VND) per trip, similar to other regular delivery services offered by Meituan. The service accepts orders from 10 AM to 4 PM, after which the drone is tasked with transporting waste to recycling stations.
However, the drone still needs human assistance. After an order arrives, a Meituan employee will retrieve it from a nearby store and take it to the hotel's rooftop for weighing and packaging.
An operator will attach the package to the drone, and the drone will automatically fly to the watchtower, where another person is waiting to receive it. The customer will then pick up their order from this person at the watchtower.
Airline services business
In recent years, drone delivery services have expanded rapidly in China. In 2016, e-commerce giant JD.com pioneered testing UAV delivery to rural areas.
With a payload capacity of 15kg and a maximum range of 20km, the drone helps shorten transportation time from 4 hours by car on winding roads to under 20 minutes.
In addition to improving logistics in rural areas, drones are also being used to deliver fast food to people living in urban areas.
Meituan completed its first drone delivery in the southern technology hub of Shenzhen in 2021.
The company currently operates more than 30 drone flight routes across various cities and has processed over 300,000 orders.
To navigate densely populated urban spaces, drones follow predetermined routes from launch points—often rooftops—to pickup points. Instead of hovering outside apartment or office windows, they deliver goods at kiosks near residential and office buildings.
Since last year, Meituan has also opened drone pickup kiosks in public parks in Shanghai and Shenzhen.
The expansion of drone delivery services comes amid the government's push for a "low-altitude economy ," referring to a range of businesses focused on manned and unmanned civilian aircraft operating at altitudes below 3,000 meters.
The "low-flight economy" was first identified as a new growth engine for the Chinese economy at the Central Economic Work Conference in December 2023. China aims to expand the size of this sector to 2 trillion yuan (US$279 billion) by 2030.
TB (according to Vietnamnet)Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/giao-do-an-thuoc-men-bang-drone-den-van-ly-truong-thanh-391119.html
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