Drone zone debuts at Canton Fair

Visitors check out drones at the Canton Fair in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Wednesday. (ZHENG ERQI/CHINA DAILY)

A dedicated zone for agricultural and consumer-grade drones has been established at the China Import and Export Fair for the first time, showcasing achievements in the country's low-altitude industry.

The exhibition, commonly known as the Canton Fair, kicked off its 139th session in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, on Wednesday, drawing a record number of over 32,000 participating enterprises.

The drone zone, scheduled for the fair's first phase from Wednesday to Sunday, highlights diverse drone applications, from entertainment to smart agriculture, according to the organizers.

With an advanced manufacturing theme, the fair has a total exhibition area of 520,000 square meters and more than 25,000 exhibition booths established by over 12,000 companies in its first phase.

Held twice a year, the Canton Fair includes three phases per session.

The fair's first phase includes five major sections — electronics and appliances, industrial manufacturing, lighting and electrical, hardware tools, and vehicles and two-wheelers — spread across 19 exhibition zones.

Technological breakthroughs in consumer-grade and smart agricultural drones are being displayed, including advancements in flight control systems, communication and navigation, AI obstacle avoidance, and new energy propulsion.

Flight platforms designed for logistics and delivery are also being highlighted, alongside real-time kinematic navigation, tethered hovering, and intelligent spraying for high-precision operations.

Application scenarios for China's consumer-grade drones have expanded in recent years to cover cultural and tourism displays, passenger experiences, aerial photography, lighting, broadcasting, communication relays, transportation and firefighting.

At the drone zone, a variety of Chinese companies are demonstrating their technologies and products, showcasing the rapid development of the country's low-altitude industry.

Guangdong Yufei Aviation is showcasing its ultra-lightweight, foldable, single-passenger eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft at the exhibition, which boasts a maximum payload of 110 kilograms and a top flight speed of 72 kilometers per hour, with impressive power endurance capabilities.

Guangzhou Chengzhi Intelligent Machinery Technology Co is exhibiting its firefighting drones during the exhibition. They are designed to respond quickly to forest and high-rise building fires and extinguish them with water, effectively controlling the spread of the fire and saving time for internal firefighting efforts.

The company's emergency drones are also being featured, capable of providing long-duration, wide-area applications such as lighting, broadcasting and video surveillance, even in harsh operating environments.

The zone for agricultural and consumer-grade drones is one of the nine new dedicated exhibition zones during the fair. It also covers smart wearables, display technologies, modular housing and garden solutions, consumer electronics, new materials and industrial automation, according to the organizers.

Established in 1957, the Canton Fair is the longest-running of several comprehensive international trade events in China, and has been hailed as the barometer of China's foreign trade.

The fair has innovatively established a comprehensive approach to attracting exhibitors, achieving stable growth in both the quantity and quality of buyers through multi-channel targeted recruitment, full-chain optimized services and digital intelligence empowerment.

The number of pre-registered buyers for the fair exceeded 210,000 this year, a year-on-year increase of 20 percent, with new buyers becoming the main drivers of the growth, according to the organizers.

New buyers are primarily concentrated in countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as other countries and regions in Latin America and Africa.

As of Wednesday, 290 leading purchasing international companies have confirmed their participation, including global retail giants such as Walmart, Tesco and Carrefour, the organizers said.