MTravel China
Hundreds of points of light in formation over a dark skyline during a drone show
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High tech

Drones, and what they carry无人机

DJI is headquartered in Shenzhen and holds most of the world's consumer drone market, and the flagship store there is a public shop where the demo cages let you fly. The wider industry around it is what makes Shenzhen the place this happens: the components, the assembly and the airspace trials are all in the same city. Two things follow from that concentration. The first is spectacle — drone light shows are now a standard Chinese civic event, several thousand units flying choreographed formations over a river or a skyline on public holidays, which has largely replaced fireworks in cities that banned them. The second is delivery: Shenzhen runs routine commercial drone delivery on fixed routes, where you order from an app and a rotor-craft flies a sealed box to an automated cabinet in a park, on a rooftop or beside a hiking trail, and a code opens the drawer. Lianhua Hill Park is the demonstration everybody uses, because you can sit on a bench and have tea arrive from the sky in under fifteen minutes.

What to do

  • Order a delivery to a park cabinet rather than to a hotel. The pickup cabinet is half the spectacle.
  • Check the local rules before flying your own. Restricted zones around airports and government districts are enforced and the geofencing is built into the aircraft.