The fireworks factories have closed down, and Guangdong's drone industry has won big.

Nowadays, drone shows can be seen everywhere. From large - scale events like the Olympics and the World Expo to small - scale ones such as brand product launches, city promotions, and even proposals and birthday celebrations, drone shows are often arranged.

Why has drone shows, which used to be a niche technology, become so common in just a few years?

In this episode, let's talk about how the drone show industry, once dominated by European and American companies, has fallen into the hands of Chinese companies.

01

Actually, before 2018, Intel was the king of drone shows.

In the halftime show of the 2017 US "Super Bowl", Intel used 300 "Shooting Star" drones to form various patterns in the air. Along with Lady Gaga's performance, it shocked the American audience on - site.

In the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics in South Korea, Intel made another move. It used 1218 drones to spell out the Olympic rings in the air, which amazed the world.

Intel's entry into this field was more of a public - relations need than a technological one.

Drone shows first entered the public eye from the laboratory in 2012.

In this year, the Ars Electronica Futurelab in Austria held the world's first outdoor drone show at the "Klangwolke" festival in Linz. However, only 49 drones were used in this show, and the viewing was limited to the on - site audience.

The emergence of drone shows in 2012 was due to the "technology spill - over effect" brought about by the popularization of smartphones. Key technologies including GPS positioning, micro - processors, and wireless communication reached a golden cross - point, making it possible to integrate them into a small aircraft.

Also, due to the impact of smartphones, Intel's development hit a bottleneck. Its traditional PC business was no match for smartphones.

In the mobile chip market, Intel lost to ARM. At this time, Intel needed a victory, at least in public relations, in the business competition...

So, in 2016, Intel acquired Ascending Technologies, a German drone pioneer, and began to study drone shows.

The shows at the 2017 "Super Bowl" and the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics were the fruits of Intel's efforts.

However, Intel's glory in the drone field didn't last long. In just a few years, the players in the drone show game changed.

Less than two months after Intel's show at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, a drone show was held on the city wall of Xi'an.

In this show, 1374 drone flights were used, breaking Intel's world record.

The organizer of this show was EHang Intelligence from Guangzhou.

This show was just the beginning. Since then, Chinese companies have continuously broken the records of drone shows.

In September 2020, Shenzhen Dammam Intelligence Control used a formation of 3051 drones to set a world record.

In May 2021, Shenzhen Gaojv Innovation increased the number of drones in a show to 5200, breaking four Guinness World Records, including the most flights and the longest duration.

Subsequently, Chinese companies continued to increase the number to 7000, 8000, and now 11000.

02

The rise of China in the drone show field can be traced back to a policy, that is, the ban and restriction on setting off fireworks and firecrackers.

Since 2015, various regions have introduced policies to ban or restrict the setting off of fireworks and firecrackers. These policies also mean that there is a large gap in the performance market previously occupied by fireworks and firecrackers.

Meanwhile, around 2015, there were also some major changes in the domestic drone market.

In the early stage of wild growth, hundreds of drone companies emerged in China, leading to a "battle of a hundred drones" in the market. However, after the brutal competition, DJI, with its full - stack technology integration advantage, firmly established itself as an industry giant, achieving "winner - takes - all".

In this situation, many drone companies had to find new ways out.

Just at this time, the ban on fireworks and firecrackers was issued.

As the saying goes, rain is a bad thing for shop - keepers but a good thing for umbrella sellers. On one hand, there were drones in the warehouses of drone companies that couldn't be sold; on the other hand, there was an unmet demand for night - time performances. So, the supply and demand sides hit it off.

Drone companies found that by making some simple modifications to the drones, such as replacing the cameras at the bottom of the drones with LED lights, the overstocked inventory could be transformed into professional performance tools.

To save their beloved industry, thousands of drones took to the sky! Well, sorry, this joke is too old.

At this time, there was a saying in the industry: "If you can't beat DJI, then beat the fireworks factories."

Just like this, driven by a strong will to survive, these drone manufacturers quickly entered this unexpected track and soon occupied the market.

Subsequently, the industry experienced an explosive growth.

According to the "2022 Data Insight Report on Drone Formation Performances in the Cultural and Tourism Industry", in 2021, there were 7228 drone shows held in China throughout the year.

In addition to the increasing number of shows, domestic manufacturers also brought down the price of drone shows. In the early stage of the industry's development, a show with 500 drones cost up to 5 million yuan. On average, each drone cost 10,000 yuan.

But today, the market price of a drone show has dropped to 500 yuan per drone. Even some small service providers offer prices as low as two or three hundred yuan per drone.

Yes, not ten or twenty thousand, not eight or nine thousand, just two or three hundred.

In fact, this price has crossed a critical point, meaning that even small companies and ordinary people can afford drone shows.

What? You want to support your idol? Then have a drone show!

What? You want to support the rival of that idol? Then have a more spectacular drone show!

03

The accumulation of performance experience has further enhanced the technological level of domestic manufacturers, enabling them to expand into the international market and gain a competitive edge.

In recent years, Chinese drone companies have held many large - scale drone shows in regions such as the Middle East, Europe, and Southeast Asia, achieving excellent performance results.

Seeing this, some people may say, isn't this so - called drone formation just an entertainment show? Isn't it just a high - tech fireworks show? What's so important about it?

This actually underestimates the "entertainment" market.

In 2024, the global market size of drone light shows reached 6.1 billion US dollars and is growing rapidly at a compound annual growth rate of 18.26%.

It is expected to grow into a huge industry worth tens of billions of dollars in the next few years.

And Chinese companies have already secured key positions in this track in advance.

According to the data from the Shenzhen Drone Industry Association, currently, Chinese companies account for about 92% of the global drone formation performance market.

In other words, whenever you see a large - scale drone show abroad, whether it's for festival promotion in Southeast Asia or a grand party of a Middle - Eastern tycoon, there is almost certainly a Chinese team behind it.

So, don't underestimate people's nature of loving a spectacle. As long as the budget allows, who doesn't love a grand event? Whose wallet of the sheikhs can withstand such a test?

Leading companies like Dammam Intelligence Control and Gaojv Innovation have overseas businesses in dozens of countries. And it's no exaggeration to say that even if foreign players can bypass Chinese brands, they can't bypass the Chinese supply chain behind them.

About 90% of the components of global commercial drones come from China.

Entertainment demand is one of the most effective catalysts for technological iteration.

04

By now, have you noticed a pattern? The companies we mentioned, such as EHang Intelligence from Guangzhou, Gaojv Innovation from Shenzhen, and Dammam Intelligence Control from Shenzhen, which account for over 90% of the domestic drone show market share, are all from Guangdong.

The reason why these companies have stood out is closely related to Guangdong's strong industrial chain.

Have you ever heard the saying: "You can build a drone without leaving Nanshan District."?

This saying vividly depicts the industrial ecosystem of drones in Shenzhen.

It can be said that any electronic device a drone company needs, whether it's the polystyrene used in the fuselage, the processor and gyroscope in the controller, or the power system and battery system of the drone, can be found from suppliers in Nanshan District in a very short time at a very cost - effective price. This advantage of industrial clustering enables Guangdong companies to develop and manufacture products at an amazing speed.

Guangdong's strong electronic industrial chain is inseparable from its decades of industrial accumulation.

Since the 1980s, the Pearl River Delta region has started the path of electronic product OEM.

After decades of development, Guangdong companies have transformed from foreign - funded OEM factories to independent brand innovators, full - industrial - chain integrators, and even core technology R & Ders.

Countless electronic component suppliers, chip - manufacturing enterprises, and intelligent hardware companies have gathered in this area.

These industrial chain advantages have enabled Guangdong to take the lead in many emerging industries in recent years.

For example, smartphones, sweeping robots, lawn - mowing robots, logistics robots, new - energy vehicles, smart wearable devices, and industrial robots.

In the fields of sweeping robots and lawn - mowing robots, many Guangdong - based companies are leading in the global market, including Yunjing Technology, Dreame Technology, etc. They are either Guangdong brands or deeply rely on the Guangdong industrial chain. There are also new - energy vehicle companies represented by BYD.

In fact, Guangdong has formed a very complete new - energy vehicle industrial chain, with significant competitive advantages in battery, motor, and intelligent networking technologies.

In the field of industrial robots, Guangdong still leads the country.

Compared with 2C products like new - energy vehicles and sweeping robots that are for consumers, industrial robots are 2B products, which means that consumers don't come into contact with them frequently.

However, in the factories you can't see, Guangdong's industrial robots are playing an increasingly important role.

Statistics show that Guangdong's production of industrial robots has ranked first in the country for five consecutive years.

In 2019, the production volume was only 44,700 sets, while in 2024, this number has reached 246,800 sets.

Companies such as Ubtech Robotics and Inovance Technology based in Shenzhen, and Topsstar based in Dongguan are the major players in the industry.

For example, Ubtech's humanoid industrial robots have entered BYD's factories to perform handling tasks and cooperate with the intelligent manufacturing management system.

05

Guangdong's developed industrial chain is not limited to the field of electronic manufacturing.

In many other fields, Guangdong's industrial chain advantages are also very obvious.

For example, in the trendy toy industry, which has been boosted by Pop Mart recently, about 70% of trendy toys in China are produced in Guangdong, especially in Dongguan.

There is also Shein, a fast - fashion clothing company that has changed the game rules.

Shein's success in defeating fast - fashion giants like ZARA and H&M in the competition is inseparable from Guangdong's developed clothing industrial chain.

In Tangxi Village in Nancun Town, Guangzhou, known as the "Shein Village", there are more than a thousand clothing factories within a 3 - kilometer radius, many of which supply goods to Shein.

These factories produce according to the "small - order, quick - response, demand - based production" model. They can quickly respond to and complete orders of "any time, any place, any quantity". This ensures Shein's weekly launch of tens of thousands of clothing styles, making it an international fast - fashion giant.

Whether it's a Shein dress or a drone in a formation show, the underlying logic of their success is exactly the same: they all rely heavily on a powerful supply chain that is fast - reacting, well - equipped, low - cost, and supports rapid trial - and - error.

This is the competitiveness of the Guangdong industrial chain.

It is like a huge and efficient "central kitchen". No matter what dish the front - end brand wants to cook, whether it's a precisely - targeted drone, a high - efficiency industrial robot, or a trendy women's dress, this "kitchen" can quickly prepare all the ingredients and cook it at the fastest speed.

In the future, this complex supply - chain network will surely give rise to new international brands.

When we are amazed by the dazzling starry sky formed by thousands of drones in the night sky, what we see is not only the magic of technology. What we see is also the strong and resilient industrial network woven by countless factories, engineers, and technical workers in the southern land.

This is the real secret of how Chinese drones can light up the world.

This article is from the WeChat official account "IC Laboratory" (ID: InsightPlusClub), author: IC Laboratory, published by 36Kr with authorization.