Chongqing - To mark the 55th World Post Day, the Chongqing branch of China Post inaugurated its first routine drone delivery route on October 9, connecting the Banan District’s Urban Collection and Delivery Department to Zhongba Island in Dazhong Village, Lianhua Subdistrict. This launch represents a major milestone as Chongqing’s first regular drone mail route.

On October 9, Chongqing's first regular drone delivery route was officially launched. This photo shows the drone loading vegetables from Zhongba Island in Banan's Lianhua Subdistrict. (Photo/Fang Xia, Wang Tao)

Zhongba Island, a river island in the Banan section of the Yangtze River, is home to over 3,000 residents primarily engaged in vegetable and fruit farming. In line with the “Postal Delivery” initiative, Banan District’s postal service has partnered with various courier companies under a “postal-courier collaboration” model to consolidate and deliver mail and parcels to the island. In 2023, more than 27,000 items were delivered to the island, with nearly 2,345 items delivered in September 2024 alone. As the busy season approaches, this volume is expected to increase significantly.

Currently, deliveries reach the island via a combination of road and ferry. After collecting packages at the Urban Collection and Delivery Department, postal workers drive to the riverside and then ferry across to the island’s postal service station. Each round trip takes about three hours.

On October 9, at approximately 10 a.m., a drone carrying mail and packages from various courier companies took off from the Banan District Urban Collection and Delivery Department. It reached Zhongba Island in just 15 minutes. At 11 a.m., the drone began its return trip with mail and fresh produce harvested that morning from the island.

According to Xu Feng, Deputy General Manager of China Post’s Chongqing Branch, the new drone route will operate daily, weather and airspace permitting, with a single round-trip flight. Each drone can carry up to 100 kilograms of goods and complete a round trip in under 45 minutes, significantly reducing delivery time.

This new drone service enables seamless “two-in, two-out” deliveries, bringing mail, newspapers, parcels, and packages from various courier companies to the island while also transporting outgoing mail and local agricultural products off the island.

(Chen Weideng, a reporter from Chongqing Daily, contributed the Chinese version of this report.)