It took 20 years for the mainland to travel from a bicycle to a private car. Seven years ago, the headquarters of Eastern General Aviation was established in Yantian, Shenzhen, allowing helicopter commuting to slowly enter the lives of Shenzhen residents. In just a few years, Shenzhen has rapidly developed into a highland for the development of low-altitude economy in the country.
Recently, the Implementation Plan for the Innovation and Development of Low-altitude Economic Industries in Yantian District (2023-2025) (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan") was officially released. Yantian proposes to seize the new track of low-altitude economic industry and accelerate the construction of a pilot zone for the innovation and development of low-altitude economic industry. Relying on the existing hardware foundation and industrial advantages, aiming at "first", Yantian's low-altitude economy is expected to "fly high".
Overlooking Yantian from a low altitude Photo by Wang Lei
The supporting system is perfect
Infrastructure first
Shenzhen's low-altitude flight has always been at the forefront of the country. The 2023 Shenzhen Municipal Government report clearly proposes to "build a low-altitude economic center". In the low-altitude economy, the general aviation industry is the main industry at present. The development of general aviation in Shenzhen has to mention Yantian.
At present, Eastern General Aviation is the largest low-altitude travel service platform-level UAM (urban air mobility) operator in China. The company's heliport in Yantian is the only one in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area that integrates helicopter parking, maintenance, display, and science popularization. In addition to providing tourism products, helicopters also frequently travel to and from intercity "air corridors" to achieve air commuting. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area helicopter "15-minute economic life circle" originated in the eastern part of Shenzhen and is slowly rolling out.
Guangzhou-Shenzhen intercity helicopter "air corridor" route test flight Eastern General Aviation courtesy of the map
Infrastructure is the leading support for industrial development. According to the plan, Yantian will make efforts to build a pilot area for low-altitude infrastructure construction, including the construction of the Maluanshan Urban Low-altitude Fusion Flight Support Base, the layout of a number of ground supporting facilities, the grid layout of more than 30 low-altitude aircraft take-off and landing platforms, and the construction of a helicopter, eVTOL, and helicopter integrated flight demonstration base.
Three-dimensional transportation is a system engineering, and the ground supporting facilities system will also be continuously improved. The plan proposes to coordinate the construction of ground infrastructure networks such as UAM and logistics distribution in combination with the comprehensive transportation and logistics station planning in the jurisdiction, and promote the inclusion of low-altitude supporting infrastructure in the planning and layout of urban transportation infrastructure. Support facility construction and operation entities and leading enterprises to jointly build a multi-scenario, multi-subject, and multi-level drone take-off and landing point network in the jurisdiction. In the process of planning and construction of key projects in the region, the construction space of supporting facilities such as low-altitude flight and landing will be reserved to provide support for the long-term development of low-altitude economy.
Application scenarios are implemented
Upgrading of industrial forms
On July 28, the first normalized drone route in Yantian District landed in the eastern OCT, a 5A-level scenic spot in China. The new route starts from the Dameisha No. 8 warehouse outlet mall, which is about 1.5 kilometers outside the scenic area, and tourists can buy goods delivered by drones in the scenic area. This is the epitome of the continuous enrichment of Yantian's low-altitude characteristic application scenarios.
With the realization of more application scenarios, the low-altitude economic format can be continuously enriched. The Plan proposes that Yantian will build a demonstration area for low-altitude characteristic application scenarios. Focusing on manned flights, tourism consumption, logistics and distribution, Shenzhen-Hong Kong cross-border, smart city governance, emergency rescue and other fields, we will create a number of characteristic application projects, develop more than 20 domestic routes and more than 5 intercity routes, and develop more application scenarios that show the charm of "Yantian".
Helicopters are used in the field of rescue Courtesy of Eastern General Aviation
Soar into the sky and travel will open up a whole new world. Yantian's advantageous tourism industry provides a carrier for the low-altitude economy, which will also feed back the tourism industry and promote tourism upgrading. The plan proposes to rely on tourism resources such as Xiaomeisha, OCT East, Zhongying Street, etc., actively cultivate the low-altitude tourism consumption market, use low-altitude aircraft such as drones, eVTOLs, and helicopters to develop tourism and entertainment consumption projects such as aerial tours, aerial photography, formation performances + light shows, improve the low-altitude tour routes of "mountains and seas, salt fields, and beautiful sea views", and unite cities in the Bay Area to explore and develop low-altitude tourism products in the Bay Area. Explore the development of low-altitude sports such as drone racing and high-altitude skydiving, and attract low-altitude aviation sports competitors, enthusiasts, and equipment suppliers to gather in Yantian.
It is worth mentioning that in terms of Shenzhen-Hong Kong cross-border, Yantian not only has geographical advantages, but also has an early layout. On June 28, 2019, under the guidance and planning of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the Joint Staff Department of the Military Commission and the Shenzhen Municipal Government, Eastern General Aviation obtained the No. 001 cross-border flight permit, realizing the first Guangdong-Hong Kong cross-border helicopter flight in China, striving to implement the "Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Outline" and build a 15-minute economic life circle between Guangdong and Hong Kong. The Plan proposes to accelerate the development of cross-border flights between Shenzhen and Hong Kong. It is planned to construct a cross-border flight connection and landing point for Yantian helicopters, build Meisha Ferry Terminal into a composite port of "passenger + yacht + cross-border helicopter", and strive to open a Shenzhen-Hong Kong cross-border flight route between Yantian and Shun Tak Airport, and make every effort to build a Shenzhen-Hong Kong air corridor.
Elements are agglomeration at an accelerated pace
The layout is future-oriented
At present, the low-altitude economy is one of the key industrial clusters in Shenzhen, and it is also one of the future industries that Shenzhen focuses on building.
Facing the future, how will Yantian be laid out?
"In the near future, the payload drone will be like an 'unmanned' helicopter, which can fly into the blue sky and realize unmanned aerial tours and travel according to the pre-set route. You can even click on your mobile phone to make an appointment to 'fly' like online car-hailing. In the future, unmanned aerial vehicles are expected to replace existing helicopters..."Zhang Lianyu, deputy general manager of Eastern General Aviation, once described the future of air commuting. Unmanned load aerial vehicles are an important direction for the future development of low-altitude economy.
Photo by unmanned aerial vehicle Wang Lei
The plan proposes to implement the site selection of the planned land, rely on the head enterprises, build the Maluanshan urban low-altitude integrated flight support base, take the lead in building the first helicopter and unmanned manned aircraft integrated airspace verification flight pilot, provide emergency rescue, intercity flight, air ferry, business travel, urban air travel and other services, and build a leading urban navigation complex in the country. In terms of cultivating new forms of manned air mobility, we will fully tap market demand, take the lead in piloting the application of UAVs in the field of manned air mobility, and accelerate the construction of urban air mobility commercial operation mode and support system.
With the continuous innovation of technology, the comprehensive services of low-altitude economy will continue to be better and stronger, and the elements of low-altitude economic development will be accelerated to gather in Yantian. The plan proposes specific measures including the construction of a low-altitude professional service platform, the holding of a low-altitude economic development summit forum, the improvement of the low-altitude economic comprehensive service ecosystem, and the construction of a low-altitude economic professional talent training base. Relevant departments will strengthen the support for enterprises and scientific research institutions in the field of low-altitude economy, introduce industrial support measures, and reward and subsidize in the construction of R&D platforms, project investment, enterprise settlement, brand building, and characteristic applications.
With the implementation of the Plan, Yantian will also "fly" to new heights.