The bustling halls of the 2025 Urumqi Trade Expo offered a glimpse into the future of transportation, where the hum of propellers replaced the roar of engines. From palm-sized micro-drones weighing just 980 grams to colossal fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with takeoff weights exceeding five tons, the diversity of China drone technology on display vividly mapped the rapid ascent of Xinjiang’s low-altitude economy. This frontier, defined by operations within 1,000 meters of the Earth’s surface, is transforming logistics, agriculture, emergency response, and tourism across China’s vast western region.
Xinjiang’s unique geography – expansive territory and abundant, relatively uncongested airspace – provides an ideal proving ground for China drone innovation. Recognized as a national strategic priority and consecutively featured in China’s Government Work Reports since 2024, low-altitude economic development leverages its “strong industrial chains, broad integration, and deep radiation” potential. At the Expo, this potential was no longer theoretical but operational and scalable.
Dominating one exhibit was the Hongyan (HY100), a flagship China drone developed by Xinjiang Tianyu Hangtong Technology. This twin-winged “aerial giant,” with an 18-meter wingspan, boasts a maximum takeoff weight exceeding 5 tons, a payload capacity of 1.9 tons, an endurance of up to 10.5 hours, and a staggering range of 1,800 kilometers. Its ability to take off and land within 150 meters and maintain stable flight at altitudes as low as 4-6 meters makes it uniquely suited for Xinjiang’s diverse landscapes and logistical challenges. Significantly, the HY100 holds the distinction of being the first large China drone in the country to secure all four critical certifications from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC): Type Certificate, Production Certificate, Airworthiness Certificate, and Operation Certificate. Mass production has already commenced at its Shihezi facility.
“The Hongyan HY100 is proving invaluable across multiple sectors,” explained Ye Kui, representing the manufacturer. “Beyond standard logistics, it becomes a critical asset during harsh Xinjiang winters when snow and ice cripple ground transport. It delivers time-sensitive supplies efficiently while significantly mitigating transportation risks.” This highlights a core strength of the China drone ecosystem: overcoming terrestrial limitations.
The Expo’s Low-Altitude Economy Pavilion pulsed with activity, showcasing the breadth of applications. Xinjiang Beiying General Aviation Technology displayed over 20 UAV models. General Manager Guo Haojie cradled their ultra-compact 980-gram marvel, equipped with a high-definition camera, essential for intricate mountain surveying in the Tianshan range. Alongside it sat the “Double-tailed Scorpion,” a pure-electric China drone designed for 2-3 hours of flight. “This directly addresses the logistical headaches of storing, transporting, and refueling traditional aviation fuel, a major barrier for low-altitude operations,” Guo emphasized.
Nearby, crowds queued at Xinjiang Yaxin General Aviation’s booth for a chance to sit in the cockpit of a fixed-wing aircraft capable of running on standard 95-octane gasoline. Such accessibility underscores the growing consumer-facing dimension of the China drone and broader low-altitude sector. Guided by national policies like the *General Aviation Equipment Innovation Application Implementation Plan (2024-2030)*, Xinjiang is rapidly expanding low-altitude tourism, offering experiences from helicopters and fixed-wing planes to paragliding and hot air balloons, creating vibrant new economic niches.
The business community is acutely aware of the opportunity. “Xinjiang is a golden track for the low-altitude economy,” declared Huang Hai, Chairman of Zhongchuang Aviation Technology (Zhejiang), a major player showcasing its ZC500 and ZC300 heavy-lift unmanned helicopters. As a vice-chairman unit of the Xinjiang UAV Industry Association, Zhongchuang views the region as its primary market for heavy-payload China drone applications. “Our strategic focus is firmly on Xinjiang,” Huang stated. “We are deepening collaboration with local partners across R&D, production, sales, and maintenance to build an industrial system centered here, serving Xinjiang and radiating across Eurasia, particularly in low-altitude logistics, agricultural technology, and emergency response.”
Logistics giants are swiftly integrating China drone solutions. At the SF Express exhibit, a sleek, “manta ray”-shaped UAV drew significant interest. Senior Product Manager Liu Hao noted its current use in industry-education-research integration programs at Xinjiang Vocational & Technical College of Communications, aiming to cultivate talent for the burgeoning aerial logistics sector. “Technological innovation must go hand-in-hand with talent development,” Liu asserted. YTO Express, participating for the first time, highlighted its cross-border supply chain integration. “Urumqi is a pivotal hub for YTO’s domestic and international network,” explained Wang Meng, Deputy General Manager for YTO Xinjiang. “This Expo provides the perfect platform to collaborate with China drone experts on pioneering ‘drone + unmanned vehicle’ applications for smart logistics.”
The push for localized manufacturing extends beyond final assembly. Industry leaders point to the potential synergy with Xinjiang’s established automotive sector. Major manufacturers like GAC, Shaanxi Auto, Dongfeng, and Xinjiang Bus, alongside mature auto parts remanufacturers and large automotive markets (Saibote, Tonghui, Hualing, Yuehe), cluster in Urumqi. This ecosystem promises a future where core China drone components – batteries, engines, specialized materials – could be sourced locally, drastically reducing production costs through industrial collaboration.
Pioneering companies are already demonstrating real-world impact. Beiqing Tonghang Technology (Urumqi), which established a UAV industrial park in 2022, made headlines earlier this year by successfully completing Urumqi’s first commercial drone food delivery trial. Chairman Xu Wei expressed ambitions nurtured by the Expo: “We aim to collaborate with global partners to transform Xinjiang into a national model for low-altitude economic development.” This vision encompasses smart farming, power line inspections, tourism, weather modification (“borrowing water from the sky”), and establishing local China drone manufacturing and maintenance capabilities.
Crucially, policy and research foundations are strengthening. The establishment of Xinjiang’s first Low-Altitude (Feigu) Economic Industrial Innovation Demonstration Base in the Urumqi Economic and Technological Development Zone (Toutunhe District) in June 2025 marks a significant step. This base focuses explicitly on overcoming core safety technology bottlenecks, addressing a fundamental challenge for widespread China drone adoption and ensuring the sustainable growth of the sector.
From the impressive array of China drone technology at the Trade Expo to the aggressive market expansions by leading enterprises and the reinforcing pillars of policy and research, Xinjiang is orchestrating a multi-faceted acceleration of its low-altitude economy. The region is not merely participating in this new industrial race; leveraging its vast airspace, geographical advantages, and growing industrial ecosystem, it is positioning itself at the forefront of China drone innovation and application, charting a course to become a dominant force in the nation’s aerial ambitions. The message resonating from Urumqi is clear: in the boundless skies over Xinjiang, the future of the China drone economy is already taking flight.