Craving takeout on a mountain top? At Wangchen Pavilion on Hangzhou’s Banshan Mountain, it’s no longer a fantasy. After visitors place orders on food delivery apps, riders drop off meals at a transfer point at the foot of the mountain. Drones then handle the final leg, carrying orders directly to pickup cabinets at the summit, where visitors collect their meals by scanning a QR code. Previously, riders took around 20 minutes to reach the mountain base, plus another 40 minutes hiking up to the pavilion. With drone delivery, the entire trip to the top takes only about 10 minutes.

The drones are fitted with multi-sensor obstacle avoidance, dual communication links, remote manual override and automatic emergency landing capabilities. The ground station conducts daily inspections and holds liability insurance for the service, with all flights suspended immediately in severe weather. Safety barriers are set up around landing zones to keep visitors at a safe distance. A dual-shift pilot system is also in place to ensure drones stay on course and remain fully controlled throughout flight.

Wu Yuwen / Low-Altitude Operation Management Division / Hangzhou Low-Altitude Traffic Operation and Management Service Center:

"Going forward, we will continue to improve the regulatory framework for low-altitude operations, and steadily advance the planning and rollout of low-altitude infrastructure. We will also keep optimizing the functions of the city-level integrated platform for low-altitude management services, and grow the talent pool for low-altitude management services."