US media: You can order takeout on the Great Wall, and drones deliver
2024-08-25
한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina
CNN reported on August 22, original title: Tourists climbing the Great Wall of China can now order food delivered by drones Hungry tourists hiking the Great Wall of China can now get lunch — from the air. Meituan, the food delivery giant, said its new drone service will deliver food, drinks and emergency medicines to customers on a remote section of the ancient Great Wall on the outskirts of Beijing. This is the first regular drone delivery route in the Chinese capital, further expanding the drone delivery business that is growing rapidly across China. China has now become the world's largest producer and exporter of civilian consumer drones. The drone delivery industry will bring convenience to people both in cities and in rural areas with inconvenient transportation.
The Great Wall drone delivery route takes off from the rooftop of the Badaling Hotel and lands at the South Nine Towers on the Badaling Great Wall South City extension. The Great Wall is a huge fortification that winds and undulates in northern China, and Badaling is one of the most popular tourist routes. The South City extension is usually hot in the summer, and in order to keep the original appearance of the area as much as possible without any commercial facilities, the drone shortens the original 50-minute delivery time to 5 minutes.
Meituan said that the drones currently in use can fly in light to moderate rain, and the delivery fee is the same as normal takeout orders. After the end of the daily operating hours, the drones will transform from "porters" to "sanitation workers", assisting scenic area operation and maintenance personnel to transport nearby waste to designated recycling locations.
However, these drones still need human help. Once an order is received, Meituan staff will pick up the goods from nearby merchants and bring them to the roof of the hotel, where they will be weighed and packed, and then the packages will be fixed to the drones. After the drones fly to the above-mentioned towers according to the delivery instructions, the staff will receive the packages. Finally, the customers pick up their own packages from the staff.
In recent years, drone delivery services have grown rapidly in China. In addition to speeding up rural logistics, they are increasingly being used to deliver food to residents of metropolitan areas. In order to fly in dense urban spaces, drones fly along a predetermined route from the take-off point to the pickup point. As Chinese companies expand drone delivery services, the Chinese government is vigorously promoting the development of the "low-altitude economy." (Author: Nectar Gan et al., translated by Cui Xiaodong)
