A spectacular show at the Spring Festival Gala sub-venue in Yibin City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, showcased China's domestically developed unmanned aerial vehicles in their first clustered public appearance on the gala stage.
During the show on Monday night, 10 Cloud Shadow UAVs and two Wing Loong UAVs took to the sky in formation, marking the debut of China's independently developed medium- and large-sized UAVs performing together at the Spring Festival Gala.
Both Cloud Shadow and Wing Loong UAVs are independently developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) in Sichuan.
The Wing Loong UAV assigned to the gala mission is China's first medium- to large-sized unmanned aircraft designed for artificial weather modification. In weather intervention operations, it overcomes challenges posed by complex meteorological and geographic conditions and features key anti-icing technologies. It has been widely used in forest fire prevention, ecological restoration, drought relief and support for major public events.
Meanwhile, the Cloud Shadow UAV is a fixed-wing UAV system with vertical takeoff and landing capability, independently developed by AVIC's Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group. It features flexible takeoff and landing, modular payload systems, rapid assembly and low operational costs. Equipped with electro-optical payloads, it can perform inspection, reconnaissance and emergency rescue missions, and can also operate in coordinated clusters.
To operate the UAVs at the gala venue with rapidly changing weather conditions, complex terrain and electromagnetic interference, the team used an intelligent management and control system independently developed by AVIC called "Wenyao."
"As an intelligent control platform for unmanned systems, it can present the overall flight status and the surrounding environment to us in the most authentic way. When we are doing mission planning, it helps us avoid corresponding flight obstacles and plays a vital role in the command and dispatch of our entire flight mission," said Zhao Chuangxin, head of the UAV product development department under AVIC Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group.
Hosted by the China Media Group (CMG), the long-running Spring Festival Gala this year features four sub-venues in addition to the main stage in Beijing. Taking the grand show to new locations each year has become a new tradition, shining a spotlight on more of China's varied landscapes and cultural traditions. Yibin is one of the four sub-venues for the Spring Festival Gala this year.
Besides Yibin, the other three sub-venues for the Spring Festival Gala this year are Harbin, the provincial capital of Heilongjiang in northeast China known as the "ice city," Yiwu in east China's Zhejiang, which has been dubbed "the world's supermarket," and Hefei, the provincial capital of the eastern Anhui Province which has emerged as a hub for sci-tech innovation.
Chinese UAVs make first clustered appearance at Spring Festival Gala sub-venue in Yibin
Estonian freestyle ski star Kelly Sildaru is aiming to write a fairytale comeback story as she returns to the world stage after a serious injury setback, as the 24-year-old targets glory against a strong field of competitors at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
The women's halfpipe competition, which begins its qualifying runs on Thursday, features some of the sport's most seasoned athletes who will show off their daring skills high in the snowy heights of the Italian Alpine town of Livigno.
Leading the field is defending champion and global icon Eileen Gu of China, who has already bagged two silver medals at this year's Winter Games.
But despite a difficult run up to the event, Sildaru says she is ready to challenge the favorite and compete for more medal success after bringing home slopestyle bronze at her Olympic debut in Beijing four years ago.
Now, after battling back from a severe knee injury and choosing to focus solely on the halfpipe, Sildaru says she's competing with a new sense of perspective and is feeling more relaxed about the event.
The threat of injury is an ever-present shadow which hangs over all freestyle skiers, a reality Sildaru knows all too well.
"I think freestyle skiing is one of the most dangerous sports. You don't need much [to go wrong] to crash. You could get some headwind, or something small could go wrong and you could get injured. So it's definitely a really risky sport. But yeah, I think when we're skiing and competing, we also have this thought in mind that we have a chance of injury and we're willing to take that risk. That's the sport," Sildaru told the China Global Television Network (CGTN).
This year's halfpipe competition promises to be a spectacular showcase of risk and reward, as the world's best pursue golden glory at the Games. For Sildaru, having such a strong lineup elevates the entire event and she is relishing the chance to test herself against the world's best.
"I'm really excited to be here at the Olympics anyways, and I feel like having such a strong field is also amazing, because I feel like it always sucks competing when you're missing some of the athletes. So I feel like we have everything here in the vineyard right now, and nobody's injured. So that's really, really good," she said.
The presence of Gu also puts the sport in the global spotlight, and Sildaru welcomes the increased attention the reigning champion draws to the event.
"I think definitely it brings more spotlight to the sport. And maybe, I don't know, four, five or six years ago, nobody or not that many people know, watch freestyle skiing or watch slopestyle or half pipe, but I think now they know it a bit more, which is really, really good to have more knowledge of our sport," said the Estonian skier.
As she gears up for the hotly-anticipated competition, Sildaru says that chasing medals has become an almost secondary concern. After her long road back from injury, simply being here to compete again already feels like a victory.
"It would mean so much [to win a medal]. Just battling with these injuries and just coming back I feel like it's already a win for me. So if I would go back home with a medal, it would just feel really special," she said.
Estonian freestyle skier ready to challenge for halfpipe glory after injury comeback
