- Nine-kilometer route cuts delivery times by up to 75% without increasing customer costs
- China’s low-altitude economy shifts from pilot projects toward everyday urban infrastructure
Hangzhou has launched its first cross-river drone delivery route, allowing instant delivery services to bypass ground traffic bottlenecks and marking a new phase in the city’s push to integrate drones into daily logistics.
On August 4, a drone carrying packages from delivery platform FlashEx (闪送) took off from a public drone takeoff and landing facility in Qianjiang Century City, Xiaoshan District.
After flying across the Qiantang River, it landed about 13 minutes later at a drone delivery site called Caihe Nuochao in Shangcheng District.
The approximately 9-kilometer route is Hangzhou’s first low-altitude instant delivery corridor connecting areas separated by the river, expanding drone logistics from cross-district operations to cross-river transportation.
Three-stage model
The service uses a three-stage model: ground pickup, aerial transportation and ground delivery.
Couriers collect packages within a 1.5-kilometer radius of the launch site, drones handle the river-crossing segment, and couriers on the opposite bank complete the final delivery.
Compared with traditional motorcycle-based delivery, the route improves transport efficiency by three to four times.
The service began commercial operation in July and currently handles about 150 to 200 orders per day, mainly involving urgent business documents, fresh food and medical deliveries.
Delivery prices remain the same as conventional FlashEx services, with no additional charge for drone transportation.
The project was jointly developed by Hangzhou Low-Altitude Economy Co., Beijing-based delivery platform FlashEx and drone logistics company Antwork (迅蚁科技).
A pioneer in low-altitude economy
Since launching its first pilot route in July 2025, the system has expanded across key areas including Shangcheng, Gongshu and Yuhang districts, connecting 15 takeoff and landing facilities and operating 24 regular routes.
Hangzhou has emerged as one of China’s leading cities in low-altitude infrastructure development. The city has built 14 public drone takeoff and landing hubs, more than 600 terminal landing points and nearly 350 operational routes.
The city’s Low-Altitude Transportation Operations Management Service Center said it plans to further expand infrastructure and route networks while opening the low-altitude transport market to more operators.
The long-term goal is to create an aggregation platform similar to ride-hailing services, where multiple drone operators can provide on-demand logistics services, the center said.
From pilots to infrastructure
Hangzhou’s cross-river route addresses a practical urban logistics challenge: congestion and disruptions on bridges have increased delivery times between the two sides of the river.
The new system offers a clear alternative: a 9-kilometer journey completed in 13 minutes, with three- to four-fold efficiency gains, while maintaining existing delivery prices.
For cities worldwide facing similar challenges — rivers, highways, dense urban cores and congested transportation corridors — Hangzhou’s model offers an example of how drone logistics can move beyond technology showcases and become any emerging layer of urban transportation infrastructure, thus part of everyday urban services.
