Shanghai's low-altitude equipment on the Spring Festival Gala is just the appetizer; several projects are still to be implemented after the New Year.

This spring festival Gala featured robots taking center stage, and Shanghai’s low-altitude equipment also made a stunning appearance—at the Yibin sub-venue of the Spring Festival Gala, Shanghai Fengfei Aviation Technology Co., Ltd. independently developed the world’s first eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft) seaplane airport, transforming into a high-tech water stage. Under the lighting, actress Dilraba Dilmurat and a group of dancers performed gracefully, creating a dreamlike scene.

Screenshot from the Spring Festival Gala.

The eVTOL seaplane airport can be seen as a uniquely shaped water platform, with the deck serving as the eVTOL’s parking area, and a rest zone set up as a waiting lounge.

“Before the performance, the seaplane airport deck was renovated and equipped with lighting,” said Gao Xianyong, engineer of Fengfei Aviation’s water project.

For this grand show, Gao Xianyong traveled with the team on business trips to the water airport for nearly a month. “The director team wasn’t familiar with the electrical circuits and equipment details of the water airport, so I brought several people to ensure everything ran smoothly. Besides me, there was the water airport pilot, two electricians, and a welder responsible for removing and installing railings.”

It wasn’t until the program aired that Gao Xianyong could breathe a sigh of relief, quickly returning home to reunite with family. “During rehearsals, I could see how serious the directors and performers were—they would spend a long time adjusting a single move or lighting angle. When I saw the final perfect result, I was deeply moved. Our current R&D of eVTOL also involves this meticulous attention to detail. Only with extreme care and rigor can we develop products that are both safe and enjoyable to use.”

After a brief reunion with family and friends, Gao Xianyong returned to work. On the second day of the Lunar New Year, he visited the company to communicate with engineers on-site and learn about product development progress.

“This year, some project teams at the company didn’t stop working during the holiday. Some colleagues worked on-site, others remotely. The main reason is that several application scenarios are set to be launched simultaneously after the New Year,” Gao Xianyong explained. This reflects the current state of Shanghai’s low-altitude industry—seemingly calm on the surface, but actually accumulating strength and moving forward steadily.

Shanghai is home to China’s leading eVTOL manufacturers. To understand the latest developments in China’s manned low-altitude equipment, observing Shanghai’s companies provides a clear picture.

In 2024, the low-altitude economy was officially included in the government work report for the first time, with eVTOL emerging as a highly representative industry within this sector. Suddenly, capital flooded into the low-altitude track, and new concepts and stories appeared everywhere. By 2025, industry players realized that developing the low-altitude economy was not as simple as outsiders thought. The industry entered a relatively calm period, with leading companies focusing on obtaining type certification for eVTOLs and exploring viable commercial applications.

Therefore, Shanghai’s low-altitude industry continues to advance steadily. Multiple application projects are set to launch in 2026, a result of the efforts made throughout 2025.

“If 2024 can be regarded as the inaugural year of China’s low-altitude economy, 2025 is the year of exploring applications, and 2026 will be the year of normalizing these applications,” Gao Xianyong said.

He believes that the emerging low-altitude industry is a long-term investment requiring patience. Compared to the century-long development of automobiles and airplanes, the low-altitude economy is still in its infancy. The current focus is on obtaining type certification for aircraft, formulating low-altitude laws and regulations, investing in infrastructure, and validating commercial closed-loop applications.

Fengfei Aviation is pursuing a gradual development path from cargo to passenger transport. Currently, the company’s cargo eVTOL—the V2000CG Kerry Seagull—has obtained type approval, production license, and aircraft airworthiness certificate, making it the world’s first eVTOL over a ton with all three certificates.

After securing the three certificates, the V2000CG Kerry Seagull has been tested in various scenarios, achieving several industry firsts, such as transporting supplies to offshore oil platforms and participating in national emergency drills.

Fengfei Aviation water airport.

Launching the water airport is also part of Fengfei Aviation’s efforts to promote application scenarios. It is a component of low-altitude infrastructure. Compared to land airports, water airports have minimal impact on cities and are highly flexible. For example, it can operate on the Huangpu River in Shanghai or directly reach Yibin via water routes.

In fact, this isn’t the first time Shanghai’s low-altitude equipment has appeared on the Spring Festival Gala stage. In 2025, Fengfei Aviation’s eVTOL was featured at the Chongqing sub-venue of the Gala. From the eVTOL itself to airport infrastructure, the different appearances on the stage reflect changing industry focus.

“Our new projects this year are also about applying scenarios, including one in Shanghai. We will follow up and evaluate, hoping to see more regions achieve regular application and promote large-scale commercial operations by 2026,” Gao Xianyong said.

(Article source: Shangguan News)