Zhang Jianping, director of a low-altitude air traffic institute at Southwest Jiaotong University, said drones are most useful in places where mountains or water make ground transport difficult. Only a few such services have so far reached a scale that can support commercial operations, he noted, while most are still used alongside conventional transport.

　　Zhang said western mountainous areas have demand for transporting farm produce, daily necessities and engineering supplies, because difficult terrain, large elevation changes and limited road access can make ground transport slower or harder.

　　A drone transports oranges in Guojiaba Town in Zigui County, central China's Hubei Province, April 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Cheng Min)

　　Fangxian County in central China's Hubei Province, meanwhile, is using several transport methods rather than relying on one. A national rural-delivery pilot project there uses conventional vehicles, autonomous delivery vehicles, drones and combined passenger-freight-express mail services, depending on local conditions.

　　Since the pilot began, average operating cost has fallen by 0.2 yuan per parcel, while daily inbound village mail volume has risen by 16.3 percent and outbound volume by 48.9 percent, according to the State Post Bureau.

　　In Sichuan, drones are also being used to carry matsutake mushrooms, cherries and highland strawberries, as well as bamboo, power-grid components and construction materials.

　　JD Logistics plans to expand rural drone services to more than 50 counties and districts across the provincial-level regions of Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan and Guizhou, all located in southwest China.