The EH216-S, a groundbreaking pilotless passenger-carrying aerial vehicle, successfully completed its inaugural demo flight over downtown Shanghai, its manufacturer EHang announced Thursday.
The debut was a landmark moment for Ehang, based in south China's Guangdong Province, as well as for the development of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
The company will also launch the regular trial operation of eVTOL sightseeing routes along the Huangpu River at Longhua Airport in Shanghai as part of its preparations to introduce commercial air taxi services in the city.
After take-off, the pilotless aircraft flew for approximately 5 minutes along the Huangpu River, with the entire test flight lasting around 7 minutes.
The EH216-S is capable of carrying two passengers with a maximum payload of 220 kg. Powered by 16 propellers, the vehicle can take off and land vertically and cruise at a speed of up to 130 km/h at an altitude of under 1,000 meters, with a maximum range of 30 km in a straight line.
The manufacturer emphasized that the aircraft boasts ample redundancy to ensure passenger safety during flights.
"Our tests have demonstrated that the aircraft can maintain safe and stable flight even with the failure of up to five propellers," said He Tianxing, vice president of EHang.
Beyond tourism and passenger transit, EHang expects the model to have applications in urban logistics and even emergency response. The company also plans to expand operations along the Yangtze River Delta G60 sci-tech corridor, an area that covers nine cities including Shanghai. The EH216-S is the world's first eVTOL aircraft to have obtained a type certificate, production license, and standard airworthiness certificate and has completed over 56,000 safe test flights.
The company aims to obtain an operation certificate (OC) for the aircraft in 2025.
Autonomous passenger eVTOL completes demo flight over downtown Shanghai
The annual number of inbound and outbound travelers passing through Hong Kong's West Kowloon Station on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link exceeded 30 million for the first time on Sunday, fueled by accelerated regional integration and relaxed visa policies.
The daily average number of border crossings through West Kowloon Station reached 85,000 this year, while the highest single-day figure hit 136,000, according to the Shenzhen General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection in south China's Guangdong Province.
The West Kowloon Station connects Hong Kong with 96 stations in 19 provincial-level regions on the Chinese mainland.
"We mainly want to visit the Canton Tower in Guangzhou and experience the cruise on the Pearl River," said Mr. Sun, a Hong Kong resident, at the station.
The accelerated integration is also boosting study trips between Hong Kong and Guangdong Province.
"Today we will go to Xingning in Meizhou to film our Classical Prose Recitation Competition. We hope that during this trip, students will be able to learn about the culture of our motherland," said Lin Qing, a teacher at Hong Kong's South Yuen Long Government Primary School.
"I'm really looking forward to this trip because we can learn about Guangzhou, and also about some of the development and culture of the Maritime Silk Road," said a student from Hong Kong's Tseung Kwan O Government Secondary School.
This year, nearly 1.4 million foreign tourists have made entry and exit trips via West Kowloon Station, up 24 percent year on year.
China's National Immigration Administration (NIA) in November expanded the country's 240-hour visa-free transit program to five additional ports, including West Kowloon Station on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link.
"We want to go to Guangzhou and to Shenzhen. Guangzhou -- we know a little bit about older culture -- and Shenzhen I know a little bit because it's a tech hub. I love tech, so I really want to see more," said a tourist from the Netherlands at West Kowloon Station.
"We are going to Huizhou, and also to Shenzhen. Yeah," said a tourist from Spain.
"Because also we are content creators about drones. I think China brands are innovating in the technology world. So it's incredible, because I love to fly drones and try new technology," another Spanish tourist said.
China's new policy introduced in November raised the total number of ports eligible for the 240-hour visa-free transit from 60 to 65.
Under the policy, travelers from 55 eligible countries who meet certain criteria can enter China through any of these ports in 24 provincial-level regions and stay for up to 240 hours, or 10 days, without a visa before heading to a third destination, according to the NIA.
HK's West Kowloon Station sees annual passenger flow exceed 30 million
