bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      name
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sections {
    value {
      relatedNewsletters {
        ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
        id
      }
      id
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on Section {
  name
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_image_posties_article", "og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Article {
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


sections

types

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

entityUuid

Masha Borak

Yujie Xue

Huaqiangbei, the world’s largest electronics wholesale market area in the Chinese technology hub of Shenzhen, has become the latest Wonderland for geeks, the way Tokyo’s Akihabara was to otaku during the tech bubble at the turn of the millennium. Amid the warren of closet-sized shops and makeshift stalls, the latest catalogue of smartphones, LED lights, holograms, electronic parts and every type of gadget imaginable compete for attention and the spending yuan of consumers.What began as a Sunday market for factories that assemble gadgets and toys for major global brands, Huaqiangbei has evolved in less than 10 years into a communal focus group – where customer feedback and consumer demand are instantly fed back to hardware and software developers – resulting in a stream of new products that get updated within weeks. It has easily adapted to what consumers want.
It is also the place where the world’s largest market for recreational drones was born, according to Yang Yang, executive deputy secretary general of the World UAV Federation (WUAVF), the organisation behind the annual Drone World Congress and the Shenzhen International UAV Expo, events which highlight the latest advances in unmanned aerial vehicles.
“DJI and other famous companies that were formed in Shenzhen actually got their start in Huaqiangbei and similar electronics marketplaces in Shenzhen,” said Yang, referring to SZ DJI Technology Co – the world’s largest commercial drone maker.

As a testing ground for China’s market-oriented reforms, Shenzhen used to be infamous for its copycat culture and sweatshops. That has changed over the past two decades, as the city’s fortunes grew alongside the development of companies like telecommunications equipment makers Huawei Technologies Co and ZTE Corp, as well as internet giant Tencent Holdings, which operates the world’s biggest video gaming business by revenue and China’s multipurpose super app WeChat.
The global success of DJI, which makes eight of every 10 non-military drones flown around the world, has helped transform Shenzhen into an international hotspot for the UAV industry over the past 15 years, after Hong Kong-educated engineer Frank Wang Tao founded the company in the southern Chinese coastal city. Shenzhen is home to more than 600 licensed commercial UAV companies operating in mainland China, according to WUAVF data from 2019. 
“I think the government has always used DJI as kind of a shining star to attract new talent and more companies to the city,” said David Benowitz, head of research at DroneAnalyst. 
In total, mainland China has up to 7,000 commercial UAV firms -from agricultural drone maker XAG in Guangzhou and TT Aviation in Beijing to Yuneec International in eastern Jiangsu province – competing against the likes of Parrot, Lockheed Martin and GoPro in an industry that is forecast to reach US$42.8 billion by 2025, up from US$22.5 billion in 2020.

DJI and other UAV firms selected Shenzhen as their base because of the city’s proximity to a supply chain of manufacturers and component vendors, as well as access to hi-tech talent and low-cost labour, especially those who know their way around assembly lines, according to Benowitz.
“For a drone company, or just any consumer electronics manufacturer, Shenzhen has been the most valuable city to be [located] due to the speed [in hardware development] and the talent pool that’s there,” said Benowitz, a former senior executive at DJI.
Although China is said to have been making military UAVs since the 1960s, drones for recreational use made up just a tiny segment of the consumer electronics market in Shenzhen when DJI’s Wang moved to the city in 2006.
Drones soon turned from expensive and clunky flying machines for affluent hobbyists into more sophisticated, but affordable, devices for consumers to take high-definition aerial pictures and videos, as DJI’s operations and technology developed, according to WUAVF’s Yang. The company is credited with quickly adopting advances in mobile internet technology, battery life and video stabilisation, among many hardware and software upgrades.
“DJI and Frank Wang actually made [drones] too easy to use,” said Yang.


In addition to DJI, the local government of Shenzhen has also made strategic moves to burnish its credentials as the world’s drone capital.
The city initiated an aerospace industry development plan from 2013 to 2020, which supported batches of drone companies each year, according to Liu Guozheng, head of marketing at drone company Autel Robotics.
In 2018, Shenzhen introduced the country’s first UAV supervision platform, opening up the flight management systems of the air force, civil aviation and local government. That has enabled the three sectors to get connected, share information, determine responsibilities and pursue joint supervision.
“Shenzhen leads the UAV industry in several aspects,” Liu said. “The first is government support.”
Autel, which makes both industrial and consumer drones, is one of the UAV and robotics companies that used Shenzhen as a springboard to international expansion. Founded in 2014, the company has been investing in the US and is expected to replace Yuneec as the distant No 2 challenger to DJI, according to Benowitz of DroneAnalyst.
Will Chinese drone giant DJI fly the friendly skies under Joe Biden’s watch?
Apart from government support in getting office space, Liu said Autel has benefited from the city’s fully developed industrial supply chain and openness in welcoming top talent from around the world.
“Shenzhen is a competitive market,” Liu said. “But as long as you work hard, you will keep growing.”
Industrial-grade drones made in Shenzhen account for 60 per cent of the domestic market. In 2019, the city’s total drone exports reached 18 billion yuan (US$2.8 billion), led by consumer UAVs.
The central government has also included UAVs in national development initiatives, such as the previous five-year plan from 2016 to 2020. Agricultural drones started receiving subsidies as a part of a nationwide programme to modernise farming in 2017. UAVs were even mentioned in a national plan promoting the country’s artificial intelligence industry.

Much of the success in China’s drone’s industry has also come from strategic alliances formed with other industries, according to Jessica Chung, co-lead of the centre of excellence for commercial drone adoption at Ipsos Business Consulting.
“In China, when they were developing this, I think the culture was much more open to trying different technologies and applying these into different arenas,” said Chung. She indicated that the country rolled out drone regulation faster than some markets, as UAV applications expanded.
After a devastating explosion of a chemical warehouse tore through Tianjin’s port in 2015, insurance companies sent out drones to survey the damages while the area was cordoned off. The Covid-19 outbreak last year saw UAVs spraying streets with disinfectant and being used in one case to call out people on the street for not wearing masks outside.
Recently, Shenzhen Keweitai Enterprise Development Corp revealed that its drones supported the People’s Liberation Army in its surveillance operation at the Galwan Valley, site of a deadly Himalayan border clash between Chinese and Indian soldiers in June last year.

Drones are now also being deployed across China to solve infrastructure challenges, from mining and construction sites to search-and-rescue operations. Companies such as Guangzhou-based XAG have thrived by building drones for the agriculture industry, from planting and surveying the health of crops to spraying pesticides. Online retailer JD.com and international courier DHL have used UAVs to make package deliveries in domestic locations.
“It’s not so much a flying machine, but something that’s actively collecting information you would otherwise not get or have to purchase at a very expensive price on an infrequent basis,” said Chung of Ipsos. She indicated that opportunities in China’s vast economy have attracted drone makers from the US and Europe to push their products in various industries.
Still, competition is tough in a market led by DJI. Robotics and drone companies in China have developed and prospered in tech hubs, including universities and technology parks, according to Kay Wackwitz, founder and chief executive at market research firm Drone Industry Insights in Hamburg, Germany. He described Shenzhen as a “perfect infrastructure supported by the government, with mass production for a global audience”, where [every drone company] is “fighting against the Chinese giant DJI”.


How Shenzhen, the hi-tech hub of China, became the drone capital of the world

SZ DJI Technology Co now makes eight of every 10 non-military drones flown around the world. Photo: Bloomberg

A group of 826 drones hover above the Shenzhen skyline for a light show that started at 8:26pm on August 26, 2020, to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. Photo: Xinhua

Frank Wang Tao, the founder of drone giant SZ DJI Technology Co. Photo: Xinhua

Huaqiangbei, a retail area located in Shenzhen’s Futian district, is famous for its sprawling electronics marketplaces. Photo: Shutterstock

China outspends the rest of the word in drones and robotic systems.

A farmer uses a drone to spread pesticide in a wheat field in Dingzhou City, in northern China’s Hebei province, on May 8, 2018. Photo: Xinhua

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Shenzhen is home to more than 600 licensed commercial drone companies, out of a total of about 7,000 in mainland China
 Founded in 2006, DJI now accounts for about 80 per cent of the world’s commercial drone market



Shenzhen has become an international hotspot for the unmanned aerial vehicle industry, following the global success of drone giant DJI.


Drones

Shenzhen

China technology

China economy

How Shenzhen, the hi-tech hub of China, became the drone capital of the world

Shenzhen is home to more than 600 licensed commercial drone companies, out of a total of about 7,000 in mainland China Founded in 2006, DJI now accounts for about 80 per cent of the world’s commercial drone market

Shenzhen is home to more than 600 licensed commercial drone companies, out of a total of about 7,000 in mainland China

Founded in 2006, DJI now accounts for about 80 per cent of the world’s commercial drone market