Drone deliveries reach new heights at mountain resort

In recent months tourists visiting a nature and ski resort at Changbai Mountain in Baishan, Jilin province, have been impressed by the sight of unmanned aerial vehicles delivering food — even to remote campsites. The drone delivery service at Changbai Mountain Wanda International Resort started on Aug 2, and it is the fourth scenic spot in China where delivery company Meituan has deployed UAVs. It is also the first such delivery route in Jilin.

The drones depart from the resort's Sun Plaza. Customers can place an order with the resort, which is a major skiing venue in winter, or several other hotels located within a 1-kilometer radius of the departure point.

The UAV's navigation system is able to automatically plan the flight path and accurately deliver the orders according to the set coordinates, according to Meituan.

During delivery, the drones monitor the surrounding environment through sensors to ensure a safe flight.

"Due to the management rules of the campsite, the deliverymen can only send meals to the gate of the campsite," said Liu Shuo, head of Meituan's UAV business.

"Customers have to spend at least 30 minutes walking to get their meals. The UAVs can help solve the problem as they can send the meals to the campsite, and the one-to-one delivery service also makes the arrival time more accurate."

Liu said on extremely hot summer days, with the help of the delivery service, "tourists can get their iced coffee or ice cream without them melting".

Li Yulin, a resort visitor from Harbin, Heilongjiang province, said the UAVs attracted her family's attention when they departed from the plaza. "When we learned the UAVs were being used to deliver food, we decided to give it a try," she said.

Li helped her daughter order a juice drink and several minutes later, the girl was enjoying the cold beverage. "It was really a unique experience," she said. "I am looking forward to having such a service in my city."

Meituan began a trial launch of the UAV delivery service in 2017. In early 2021, the company completed its first UAV delivery in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

As of late August, Meituan's UAV delivery service has been used in seven commercial districts in Shenzhen and Shanghai, covering 14 communities and office buildings as well as four national 5A scenic spots. Meituan has completed over 184,000 UAV delivery orders, covering more than 20,000 products, such as catering items, cosmetics, supermarket goods and electronics, Liu said.

"The average delivery time of a Meituan UAV last year was about 12 minutes, which is nearly 150 percent more efficient than traditional delivery models, saving users about 30,000 hours of waiting time," Liu said. "It can carry a maximum load of 2.5 kilograms, and the flight can last up to 3 km."

Song Yong, an official from Jilin's Department of Culture and Tourism, said advanced technologies such as UAVs are expected to play a greater role in the transformation and upgrading of the province's culture and tourism industry. "It can also meet the increasingly diversified and quality-oriented consumer demand of the current market," Song said.

Liu said, "In the future, we will introduce the UAV delivery service to more scenic spots and cities in Jilin as well as in different regions across China to help more customers enjoy the higher quality consumption experience brought by technology."