Drones nowadays have grown more accessible and affordable for general public use than ever before. They have also started fulfilling a wide variety of uses, from the conventional, such as photography, to the very unexpected, like delivering goods.
From capturing the best of China's natural wonders to assisting scientists in the study of wildlife, drones are widely being used in exploring Chinese landscape, and they currently have their eyes on China's vast and scarcely populated rural areas.
Meanwhile, logistics companies are trying to come up with ways to incorporate drones into their services. One week ago, JD.com, one of China's e-commerce giants, teamed up with the government of northwest China's Shaanxi Province to establish the world's first drone delivery network.
Special operations can also be done by drones.
"Our staff noticed that some kind of fabric got stuck on the power lines in the morning. It was later found to be nylon, and that poses a danger for the safety of the power lines. We've decided to use drones to eliminate the risk," said a national grid employee from Xiangyang, central China's Hubei Province.
Driverless aircraft have as well been applied in agriculture, where drones help to spray insecticide or herbicide. Plant-protection drones are witnessed to eliminate weed in wheat fields in villages in China's Shaanxi Province. Farmers can purchase such service via Alipay, a major Chinese online payment system.
However, not every operation involving drones is successful. The latest incident in the Siberian Tiger Park in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province is a case in point.
"We were filming the smaller tiger, then all of a sudden another one jumped up and totally blindsided us. They are too fast. It was too late for us to do anything," said Heilongjiang TV staff Gao Yuan.
The drones failed to match the agility of the kings of the jungle, but won widespread attention by capturing the interesting moment before going down.
