Tech-driven logistics boosts plum delivery in remote SW China county
CHONGQING (July 13): In an orchard in Quchi Township of Wushan County in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, villager Peng Bin finished picking fresh plums.
A black robot dog soon trotted over to Peng, carrying a basket full of fruit on its back.
Eight minutes later, the plums arrived at a postal dispatch stop. They were packed and prepared for transfer to a drone.
A robot dog transfers packs of plums to a postal dispatch stop in Wushan County in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on July 5, 2025. – Xinhua photo
Five minutes later, a drone loaded with over 50 kilograms of plums took off and reached the collection point at Wushan airport seven minutes later. On the tarmac, a special 'plum flight' awaited takeoff.
With seamless coordination between robot dogs, drones and aircraft, the plums completed their journey out of the mountains in a very short time.
On both banks of the Three Gorges section of the Yangtze River in Chongqing, 300,000 mu (about 20,000 hectares) of Wushan plums are now ripening. Plum transportation in the area once relied on manual labor and trucks.
Drones transferring packs of plums arrive at the collection point at Wushan airport in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on July 5, 2025. – Xinhua photo
Peng, who has planted more than 100 mu of plums in this area with rough terrain. 'Last year, we had drones. This year, we have robot dogs and drones.
'Plum transport is faster than ever, and we have saved a lot on labor costs,' Peng said.
Li Yongjun, general manager of the Wushan County branch of China Post Group Co Ltd, said that the postal service has developed a new model combining 'robot dog in the field transport, drone transfer and plum flights'.
Photo taken on July 5, 2025 shows a special 'plum flight' at Wushan airport in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. – Xinhua photo
Compared with human and animal labor, robot dogs have proved better suited to rough terrain – and they have more than tripled transport efficiency.
Drone transfers, meanwhile, have broken through geographical constraints, further slashing the transport time.
'As transport efficiency has been greatly improved, consumers can enjoy high-quality Wushan plums shortly after they are picked, while farmers are also earning more,' Li noted.
Currently, fresh Wushan plums can be delivered within 24 hours to over 1,000 cities across China.
This year, it is expected that 140,000 tonnes of plums will be sold nationwide, with total output value projected to exceed 2.2 billion yuan (about US$307.6 million), said Chen Huiyi, director of the Wushan County transportation bureau. – Xinhua China Chongqing plums Xinhua
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malaysia Sun
an hour ago
- Malaysia Sun
Feature: ECRL mega rail project marks another milestone with breakthrough of Genting Tunnel
KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), a mega rail project in Malaysia being built by the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), marked another key milestone on Saturday with the breakthrough of the 16.39-kilometer Genting Tunnel. The breakthrough represents a significant achievement in itself, situated beneath more than 750 meters of mountainous terrain, the company said in a statement following a ceremony to mark the occasion. Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook, who officiated the ceremony, told a press briefing that the breakthrough also highlights the successful cooperation between the two countries in the field of railway engineering. "The ECRL is also touted as a 'game changer' for the movement of passengers and freight in Peninsular Malaysia, as this rail infrastructure will link state capitals, major urban centres, industrial hubs, seaports, airports, and tourism zones while interchanging with existing railway lines along the ECRL corridor," he added. "The Genting Tunnel breakthrough also signals the completion of excavation works for all 41 ECRL tunnels along the 665-km alignment. This major milestone highlights the strong collaboration and dedication among ECRL personnel at all levels in carrying out tunnel excavation works with meticulous planning and robust safety protocols," Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) Chief Executive Officer Darwis Abdul Razak noted. Located within the Titiwangsa mountain range, the Genting Tunnel was the most technically challenging of the 41 tunnels constructed along the ECRL alignment, being constructed with the use of advanced tunnel boring machines (TBMs) and drill-and-blast techniques in highly complex and varied geological conditions. Explaining the challenges of working under these conditions and the use of high-technology methods to overcome them, Chen Jianfeng, deputy general manager of CCCC Second Highway Engineering Co., Ltd., told Xinhua that China's TBM technology is among the world's most advanced and well-suited to handle these challenges. "The Genting Tunnel has highly complex geological conditions, including water ingress, rock bursts, soft surrounding rock, and six fault zones along the alignment. Due to these challenges, we chose the TBM method, which offers greater safety, stability, and efficiency for tunneling under such difficult conditions," he said. He also emphasized that the Chinese side has worked well with the Malaysian side to share knowledge and integrate processes, not only by bringing in advanced machinery and expertise but also by incorporating localization. "Throughout the construction process in Malaysia, we have placed strong emphasis on localization while continuously working towards the integration of Chinese and Malaysian standards -- a key focus of our efforts. During the project, we incorporated a wide range of local Malaysian elements and actively nurtured local talent," he said. "Many Malaysian technical personnel have been sent to China for training. Looking ahead, the ECRL will be operated through a joint China-Malaysia partnership, with both parties working together as part of an integrated operation and maintenance team," he added. With the completion of all tunnelling works, the ECRL project now moves into its next phase, which includes track installation, electrification, signaling and communication systems, as well as station interior fit-outs. All works remain on schedule and aligned with the project's master timeline. The ECRL extends from Malaysia's largest transport hub, Port Klang, and runs across the peninsula to the northeastern Kelantan state. The railway is expected to greatly enhance connectivity and bring more balanced growth to the country by linking its less-developed region on the east coast to the economic heartland on the west coast.
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Shanghai's luxury home sales boom as wealthy buyers flock to ‘safe haven' assets
Luxury home sales in Shanghai are defying a nationwide slump, as wealthy buyers snap up 'safe haven' assets amid expectations of further price gains – a trend likely to continue given scarce inventory and rising land costs. In the first half of this year, the mainland's financial capital led in transactions of premium homes, accounting for sales of 482 new homes priced above 50 million yuan (US$7 million), more than 80 per cent of the total across 30 cities, according to data compiled by China Real Estate Information Corporation (CRIC). For homes priced above 30 million yuan, transactions in the city reached 1,096 units, accounting for 60 per cent of the 30-city total. Two other tier-one cities, Beijing and Shenzhen, followed with 12 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively, the research institute added. Nationwide, sales of new homes priced above 50 million yuan jumped nearly 50 per cent from a year earlier to 591 units, while sales of lived-in units in the same price category increased 43 per cent to 173 in the same period, according to CRIC. The surge was underpinned by both demand and supply factors, analysts said. On the demand side, Shanghai's premium homes were emerging as a 'clear safe-haven asset, offering stability amid relatively high risks in other cities', said Lu Wenxi, an analyst at Centaline Property in Shanghai. 'Given the scarcity of residential properties in the city centre and the solid fundamentals of the homes themselves, investing in premium homes makes sense from both a risk and value-appreciation perspective,' he added. 'After all, there aren't many options for those with capital to deploy.' On the supply side, a policy move last June to scrap the cap on land prices in Shanghai has also helped to sustain the value of properties. Leading developers continue to focus their land acquisitions in prime locations within core cities 'as reflected in the rising land premium rates this year in tier-one and strong tier-two cities', said Shi Lulu, director of Asia-Pacific corporate ratings at Fitch Ratings. New home sales in China were expected to decline by about 15 per cent this year, according to an earlier forecast by Fitch. 'Premium projects in top-tier cities are expected to provide ongoing support for the performance of upgrade-oriented sales,' she said, adding that growth in the high-end segment could help the property sector temper the slowdown. Centaline's Lu said Shanghai's premium home prices would continue to rise. 'Land in the city centre is running out,' he said. 'With no land available, demolition becomes necessary, but the costs of demolition and relocation are rising each year, and housing price expectations are getting higher as costs increase.' Shanghai was also one of China's only cities that managed to defy a broad-based decline in new home prices in June, as the country's property slump is set to enter its fifth year, despite official measures to support the sector that once accounted for a quarter of the country's gross domestic product. Nationwide, new home sales fell to 9.7 trillion yuan in 2024 – less than half the level recorded in 2021, according to government data. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
New Straits Times
4 hours ago
- New Straits Times
ECRL marks another milestone with breakthrough of Genting tunnel
KUALA LUMPUR: The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), a mega rail project in Malaysia being built by the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), marked another key milestone on Saturday with the breakthrough of the 16.39-kilometre Genting Tunnel, Xinhua reported. The breakthrough represents a significant achievement in itself, situated beneath more than 750 meters of mountainous terrain, the company said in a statement following a ceremony to mark the occasion. Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook, who officiated the ceremony, told a press briefing that the breakthrough also highlights the successful cooperation between the two countries in the field of railway engineering. "The ECRL is also touted as a 'game changer' for the movement of passengers and freight in Peninsular Malaysia, as this rail infrastructure will link state capitals, major urban centres, industrial hubs, seaports, airports, and tourism zones while interchanging with existing railway lines along the ECRL corridor," he added. "The Genting Tunnel breakthrough also signals the completion of excavation works for all 41 ECRL tunnels along the 665-km alignment. This major milestone highlights the strong collaboration and dedication among ECRL personnel at all levels in carrying out tunnel excavation works with meticulous planning and robust safety protocols," Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) Chief Executive Officer Darwis Abdul Razak noted. Located within the Titiwangsa mountain range, the Genting Tunnel was the most technically challenging of the 41 tunnels constructed along the ECRL alignment, being constructed with the use of advanced tunnel boring machines (TBMs) and drill-and-blast techniques in highly complex and varied geological conditions. Explaining the challenges of working under these conditions and the use of high-technology methods to overcome them, Chen Jianfeng, deputy general manager of CCCC Second Highway Engineering Co., Ltd., told Xinhua that China's TBM technology is among the world's most advanced and well-suited to handle these challenges. "The Genting Tunnel has highly complex geological conditions, including water ingress, rock bursts, soft surrounding rock, and six fault zones along the alignment. Due to these challenges, we chose the TBM method, which offers greater safety, stability, and efficiency for tunnelling under such difficult conditions," he said. He also emphasised that the Chinese side has worked well with the Malaysian side to share knowledge and integrate processes, not only by bringing in advanced machinery and expertise but also by incorporating localisation. "Throughout the construction process in Malaysia, we have placed strong emphasis on localisation while continuously working towards the integration of Chinese and Malaysian standards -- a key focus of our efforts. During the project, we incorporated a wide range of local Malaysian elements and actively nurtured local talent," he said. "Many Malaysian technical personnel have been sent to China for training. Looking ahead, the ECRL will be operated through a joint China-Malaysia partnership, with both parties working together as part of an integrated operation and maintenance team," he added. With the completion of all tunnelling works, the ECRL project now moves into its next phase, which includes track installation, electrification, signalling, and communication systems, as well as station interior fit-outs. All works remain on schedule and aligned with the project's master timeline. The ECRL extends from Malaysia's largest transport hub, Port Klang, and runs across the peninsula to the northeastern Kelantan state. The railway is expected to greatly enhance connectivity and bring more balanced growth to the country by linking its less-developed region on the east coast to the economic heartland on the west coast.
