NW. China city flies 1,000 drones to stage light show, mark weeklong holiday

Amid growing environmental awareness, drones have steadily replaced fireworks on these occasions and found wider applications beyond just aerial photography.

Lanzhou, a city in northwestern China, yesterday flew 1,000 drones to stage a lighting performance for hundreds of tourists on the first day of the weeklong holiday this year.

At Lanzhou Jinshui Plaza, a local landmark and tourist attraction, about 1,000 drones soared to the night skies and adorned the skylines of the city known for its beef noodles and rich cultural heritage.

The illuminated drones danced in the air according to choreographed flight patterns, switching the color of the light depending on the circumstances.

The drone fleet displayed cultural icons, local scenic spots, and welcome messages, drawing a large crowd of onlookers to the plaza next to Yellow River that bisects Lanzhou.

According to the organizer, the drone light show will be held for another day today in celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival and seven-day National Day holiday, also known as the “Golden Week” break.

Across China, drones are utilized more often during celebrations of major events, festivals and sports competitions.

Amid growing environmental awareness, drones have steadily replaced fireworks on these occasions and found wider applications beyond just aerial photography.

In addition to the drone light shows, Lanzhou will also organize manned eVTOL performances at popular tourist destinations like Danxia landscapes.

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Ni Tao

Ni Tao is the founder and editor-in-chief of cnrobopedia. Prior to cnrobopedia, he had a full decade of experience with a major state-run English-language newspaper as a tech reporter and opinion writer. He is also a communications specialist, having provided consultancy services to established firms like Siemens, Philips, ABinBev, Diageo, Trip.com Group (Nasdaq: TCOM, HK: 9961), Jianpu Technology (NYSE: JT) and a handful of domestic startups. A graduate of Fudan University, he writes widely about China's business and tech scenes and other topics for global publications including South China Morning Post, SupChina, The Diplomat, CGTN, Banking Technology, among others, and tries to impart his experience to students at Fudan University Journalism School, where he is a part-time lecturer. When he's not writing about robotics, you can expect him to be on his beloved Yanagisawa saxophones, trying to play some jazz riffs, often in vain and occasionally against the protests of an angry neighbor. Get in touch with him by dropping a line at nitao0927@gmail.com.

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