Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality has been actively promoting low-altitude economy by developing new consumer models and enhancing the industrial chain, as cities across the country are advancing strategies to capitalize on this sector driven by supportive national policies and a growing market.
It has become popular in Chongqing to feel the excitement of soaring hundreds of meters above the Earth and see the city's beauty from a whole new perspective by hopping on a light sport aircraft at the Longxiang General Airport.
As the pioneering area for Chongqing's low-altitude economy, the Liangjiang New Area has been exploring general aviation since 2012. The well-equipped Longxing General Airport now hosts a variety of low-altitude businesses offering flight experience, general aviation services, and pilot training, attracting more people to try these new activities.
"Our country has launched a series of new policies to support the low-altitude economy by lowing the threshold, such as easing the age requirements for pilots. So I finally fulfilled my dream of flying at the age of 63," said Meng Xiankui, a pilot training student.
Chongqing has rapidly developed its low-altitude economy this year, with the Longxing General Airport handling over 5,000 flights in the first half of the year, which was a 50 percent increase year on year.
In early August, Chongqing's first low-altitude flight route to Chengdu, capital city of its neighboring province of Sichuan, was launched from the airport, marking the first time enthusiasts were able to fly on an intercity transfer route and further expanding low-altitude applications and business models.
"Since Chongqing started promoting the low-altitude economy, our company's flight projects have seen a significant boost. This has led us to develop short routes to nearby areas and cities. This exploration of low-altitude flights is laying the groundwork for future regular intercity flights and short-distance transport between Chongqing and Chengdu," said Chen Yiqiang, manager of Chongqing Pengzhiyi General Aviation Co., Ltd.
As a pilot city of China's low-altitude airspace management reform, Chongqing is advancing low-altitude flights for logistics, urban management, and emergency rescue. To support this, the city has focused on developing the drone industry and related technologies. A hydrogen-powered drone, developed by the Chongqing Research Institute of Harbin Institute of Technology, is now in its final testing phase.
"Using hydrogen power for drones has become a trend in recent years. Attracted by Chongqing's supportive policies for the low-altitude economy, we've brought our technology here to demonstrate its applications in areas like wildfire prevention, route detection, and traffic monitoring," said Shen Yiling, technical leader of the Hydrogen Power and Low-carbon Energy Research Center of the Chongqing Institute of Harbin Institute of Technology.
"Over the years, we've brought in key players across the entire industrial chain of the low-altitude economy, now hosting 22 major market entities of certain scale. We'll leverage Chongqing's strengths in the sectors of new energy and intelligent connected vehicle to develop flying cars, eVTOLs, and related industries," said Xiang Yang, chairman of Chongqing Liangjiang Aviation and Aerospace Industry Investment Group Co., Ltd.
Chongqing has seized the moment to actively develop the low-altitude economy, continuously exploring new application scenarios and business models. At the same time, it has focused on strengthening technological research and development and improving the supporting infrastructure, aiming to make the low-altitude economy a new driving force for regional growth.
Chongqing seizes opportunities to develop low-altitude economy industry
