Audeinces watch demonstration flight of AS700 airship at the delivery ceremony held in Taicang, East China's Jiangsu Province, on December 30, 2025. Photo: Courtesy of the Special Vehicle Research Institute under the Aviation Industry Corp of China

China's domestically developed AS700 "Xiangyun" manned airship on Tuesday obtained the country's first production certificate (PC) for a domestic manned airship, marking a major milestone in China's rapidly growing low-altitude economy. 

On the same day, a newly built AS700 was delivered to the Taicang Cultural Tourism Group, representing the first delivery following approval for mass production, the airship's developer told the Global Times.

Notably, the delivered airship is the first AS700 to enter commercial operation after receiving China's inaugural manned airship PC. Through the industrialization of the AS700 airship, China has for the first time established a complete manned airship ecosystem spanning research and development, manufacturing, testing, flight operation and service support.

This represents a key step in building China's low-altitude economy product system, laying a solid foundation for the large-scale delivery and commercial operation of domestically produced manned airships, the research institute told the Global Times, adding that with the PC in place, the AS700 can now be manufactured swiftly in accordance with required standards and delivered to customers efficiently.

According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the market size of China's low-altitude economy is estimated to have reached 1.5 trillion yuan ($214.10 billion) in 2025 and is projected to exceed 3.5 trillion yuan by 2035. Experts said that the mass production of manned airships will provide important equipment support for China's rapidly developing low-altitude economy.

Manned Airships are a type of low-altitude aircraft mainly used for short-range, local tourism, such as low-altitude sightseeing, Wang Yanan, editor-in-chief of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times on Tuesday, noting that they can also be deployed for patrol and monitoring tasks.

Although airships have some limitations such as sensitivity to weather and the need for large hangars, they offer clear advantages, including slower flight speeds for enhanced safety and low operating costs, requiring only an electric system to maintain level flight, said Wang.

China is stepping up efforts to further boost the development of the low-altitude economy. On Friday, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology unveiled top work priorities for 2026, saying that China will continue to prioritize the cultivation and expansion of emerging and future-oriented industries with plans to develop integrated circuits, new displays, new materials, aerospace, low-altitude economy and biopharmaceuticals into emerging pillar industries.

In another major boost for the low-altitude economy, Chinese lawmakers on Saturday voted to adopt a revision to the Civil Aviation Law. Comprising 16 chapters, the revised law further enriches and improves various institutional measures to regulate civil aviation activities, guarantee civil aviation safety, and support the development of civil aviation manufacturing, transportation and low-altitude economy, Xinhua reported.