Drones and autonomous vehicles, showcased at this year's international exhibition on transport technology and equipment in Beijing, have been transforming China's logistics industry and improving the quality of life.
The 16th International Exhibition on Transport Technology and Equipment, also known as China Transpo, opened on Sunday at Beijing's Shougang Park. Hosted by the Ministry of Transport, the three-day event drew over 80 leading companies and institutions from the transportation sector.
The exhibition saw companies showcasing their cutting-edge automation solutions, with a standout being a drone model capable of carrying up to 15 kilograms with a range of 120 kilometers.
The model has already been in use in Jiaxing, a city of east China's Zhejiang Province, delivering medical supplies and food, all monitored through a smart platform that tracks flight routes in real time.
For example, with drones transporting blood samples, villagers in the Sanxing Village of the city, who previously had to travel to city hospitals for lab tests, can have their tests done locally and receive results within two hours.
"Take liver function tests for example, we couldn't conduct such tests at our clinic. Now, with drones transporting blood samples to city hospitals, diagnostic efficiency has significantly improved. If we're short of medicine, the drones also quickly bring them from the hospitals," said Xu Jingfeng, a doctor of the Sanxing Village clinic.
Currently, Jiaxing has established six low-altitude drone delivery routes for medical supplies, covering major hospitals, community clinics and village health centers. Compared to traditional ground transport, drone deliveries cut transport time by nearly 60 percent.
Beyond medical deliveries, drones are also being used for food and parcel delivery. Even in scenic areas, tourists can get takeouts delivered by drones.
"Traditional food delivery takes at least 30 minutes. With drones, we save about two-thirds of that time. This year, we've operated 13 drone delivery routes, completing over 1,300 flights," said He Quan, deputy head of the Nanhu Research Institute for Future Transportation, dedicated to the study and application of smart transportation solutions.
While drones are boosting air deliveries, autonomous delivery vehicles are improving efficiency, particularly in handling the "last mile" of package deliveries on ground. Equipped with 11 cameras and three radar systems, these vehicles can detect traffic lights, lane markings and obstacles, completing a 4-kilometer delivery in just 10 minutes.
Today, smart technologies like parcel sorting robots, drones and autonomous vehicles have been integrated across China's major courier networks. With over 270,000 delivery vehicles in use, these innovations are reducing delivery times and helping move around 440 million parcels between urban and rural areas daily.
Drones, autonomous vehicles revolutionize logistics sector in China
