Farmers receive training on agricultural drones in Guanyun County, Lianyungang City, February 19, 2025. (Photo/CFP)

With well-developed industrial chains in drone and aerospace manufacturing, Jiangsu Province has laid a solid foundation for the robust development of its low-altitude economy.

Currently, the province has approved 324 low-altitude flight routes for an array of applications, including sightseeing, express delivery, healthcare, and patrolling.

Last year, the province issued guidelines on accelerating the high-quality development of low-altitude economy, with the aim of taking the national lead in the scale of low-altitude economy by 2027, and establishing a competitive industry chain covering various upstream and downstream segments by 2030.

Among the regions promoting the low-altitude economy, Pukou District in Nanjing is one of the first national civil unmanned aviation test zones and the only one of its kind in Jiangsu.

Furthermore, Suzhou, Wuxi, Nanjing, Yangzhou, and Changzhou have all released their three-year development plans for the low-altitude economy, and their total economic output is expected to exceed 180 billion yuan. Other cities including Zhenjiang, Nantong and Xuzhou are also advancing the sector, with the potential to increase the province's total to surpass 200 billion yuan.

Nationwide, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the country's low-altitude economy is projected to reach 1.5 trillion yuan by 2025 and 3.5 trillion yuan by 2035.