Chongqing - Amid the pines of a scenic area in southwest China's Chongqing, two drones rose with a low hum, weaving through branches to hover 10 meters above the treetops as a fine mist of pesticide drifted down to target hidden pine caterpillars below.

"This canopy-level spraying hits where pests hide, boosting efficiency 30-fold over manual work and eliminating blind spots," said Ni Liufa, deputy director of Liangping District's forest resources monitoring and pest control station.

This scene exemplifies the quiet revolution of China's booming low-altitude economy, evolving from novelty to essential practical use.

Anchored by its inclusion in China's central government work reports for 2024 and 2025, the sector is soaring. The Civil Aviation Administration of China projects the market size to reach 1.5 trillion yuan (about 209.8 billion U.S. dollars) by 2025, with potential growth up to 3.5 trillion yuan by 2035.

The 1st West China Low-altitude Economy Expo in Liangping, which concluded Sunday, showcased the rapid diversification. Exhibits ranged from 5-tonne cargo drones and 4-passenger eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft to advanced communication and air traffic management systems. The applications spanned logistics, passenger transport, tourism, public safety, emergency response, surveying, and agriculture.

"Low-altitude economy is evolving from traditional services to integrated formats," said Liu Daxiang, professor at Beihang University. "Deep development in agriculture, logistics, tourism, and emergency response is reshaping entire value chains."

Growth is expanding from China's eastern hubs to the central and western regions, reaching beyond cities into the countryside.

Chongqing, leveraging its unique landscape, is actively building an ecosystem integrating low-altitude operations with urban life and industry. The city recorded 190,000 flight hours in the first half of 2024, a surge of 109.2 percent year on year, with flight operations jumping 67.3 percent to over 1.15 million.

Drones are transforming logistics, especially in less accessible areas. "Our 'air-to-air intermodal transport' connects drones with China Postal Airlines cargo flights," said Sun Liye, vice president of United Aircraft. "Fresh plums from Chongqing's Wushan County can now reach supermarkets in eastern coastal regions such as Nanjing or Shanghai the same afternoon, 17 times faster than before."

In south China's Shenzhen, 483 low-altitude takeoff and landing points and a pioneering city-wide safety network have been established. In Jinzhai County, east China's Anhui province, drones are used to overcome the mountainous "last mile," delivering more than 1,000 tonnes of produce each year. In Altay Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, drones are boosting the efficiency of grassland ecological monitoring.

"Low-altitude economy isn't some distant industry; it's right here," said Zhou Yuyun, a Chongqing resident exhilarated by a powered paragliding experience. "Seeing the world from above instead of the ground is breathtaking."

Experts at the expo concurred that China's low-altitude economy is experiencing an unprecedented boom, driven by rapid advancements in aircraft manufacturing, flight services and diverse application scenarios, alongside a strengthening industrial chain and accelerating innovation.

"With continuous policy refinement and technological breakthroughs, China's low-altitude economy will continue to expand," said Wang Huizheng, deputy head of the low-altitude economy branch of the China Information Industry Association.

"This vast 'blue sky' market holds immense potential, and is poised to inject powerful new momentum into economic and social development," Wang added.