Drones are working alongside farmers in the fields of Xindu District, Chengdu City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, racing against time to pick fresh spring vegetables and deliver them directly from farm to table.
Unlike in the past, these vegetables no longer wait for people or vehicles. They are delivered straight to small 'airports' set up in the fields. Waiting drones have become the first leg of this fresh produce relay.
"'Pick and deliver' is especially suitable for small-batch orders that require timeliness and freshness. It enables rapid transfer," said Gou Senlin, head of the low-altitude economy team at Sichuan Liuhang Agriculture Co., Ltd.
Loaded with spring vegetables, the drones fly a direct route of four kilometers and land precisely at the sorting center just five minutes later. Workers immediately begin sorting and packing, and by noon, these spring vegetable packages are loaded onto express trucks bound for destinations across China, arriving the same day within Sichuan and the next day outside the province.
"This 'air express line' captures the most valuable freshness window for agricultural products and makes for our modern order-based agriculture, characterized by small batches, multiple shipments, and high efficiency," said Mao Zaiyou, deputy section chief of logistics development and integrated transport at the Xindu District Transport Bureau.
According to the company, a four-kilometer drone flight costs about 15 to 20 yuan (two to three U.S. dollars), and each drone can carry up to 30 kilograms.
"This spring vegetable season, we have already completed 90,000 orders," said Gou.
Since forming its drone team last year, the company has expanded its business from Xindu to several surrounding counties and cities, with 80 percent of its services now supporting agriculture. From crop protection and seeding to transportation, drones are becoming integral to every stage of farming.
So far, Chengdu has attracted over 500 companies in the low-altitude economy sector, with its low-altitude aircraft products achieving full coverage from the 10-kilogram class to the ton class.
"To advance agricultural modernization, we are promoting the integration of technology by combining drones with the Internet of Things and big data, achieving full traceability from field to table and ensuring greater freshness. These 'flying new farm tools' will be key to developing new quality productive forces in agriculture during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030)," said Li Yunfei, director of the Agricultural Mechanization Division at Chengdu's Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau.
Drones deliver fresh vegetables from farm to table in Chengdu
