A viral video claiming "Yiwu is now selling UFOs" draws attention to a flying-saucer-shaped manned eVTOL aircraft on display at the Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center in East China's Zhejiang Province. Photo: Screenshot of local media report

A video claiming that "Yiwu is now selling UFOs" has gone viral on Chinese social media, drawing attention to a flying-saucer-shaped passenger aircraft on display at the Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center in East China's Zhejiang Province, according to local media.

The aircraft is a manned electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft independently developed by a Shenzhen company named Smart Drone. Its futuristic design has attracted both domestic and overseas buyers to the showroom.

The aircraft features a disc-shaped body and a 360-degree transparent spherical cockpit, with its main structure made of fiberglass, carbon fiber, aluminum alloy and aviation-grade laminates. It can carry one to two passengers, local authorities told the Global Times.

Using vertical takeoff and landing technology, the aircraft requires no runway and supports autonomous flight. It is mainly designed for low-altitude sightseeing, scenic-area tours and aerial performances. Its six-rotor ducted design fully encloses the propellers within the fuselage, while the aircraft can also take off and land on both water and land and withstand winds of up to Force 5, local media reported.

"The manned flying saucer is priced at 800,000 yuan ($112,000), can fly at an altitude of about 30 meters and has an endurance of 15 minutes. It has obtained a special flight permit for civil unmanned aircraft issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China," Huang Yang, head of Smart Drone's showroom at the Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center, said, Jinhua Daily reported.

Huang said the aircraft was put on display after the company moved into the center earlier this year. The showroom now receives more than 10 groups of domestic and overseas buyers on average each day, with a steady stream of inquiries.

Some netizens joked that people once came to Yiwu to wholesale socks and toys, but now they come to see manned "UFOs."

Behind the joke is a broader shift in the Yiwu market. It is still selling products, but increasingly those products go beyond everyday consumer goods to showcase China's intelligent manufacturing and new forms of mobility and lifestyle, industrial observers said.

Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that "at this stage, the significance of such UFO-like eVTOLs lies more in demonstration than in actual commercial application."

However, he said the popularity of products such as drones, robots and low-altitude aircraft reflects a deeper shift in Yiwu's market structure. Long known as a global hub for small commodities, Yiwu is increasingly becoming a distribution and procurement center for smart technology products.

The change is not simply about adding new product categories, the expert noted. It shows that Chinese intelligent manufacturing products are moving more directly into global trade channels, while Yiwu's role is expanding from selling everyday goods to connecting new technologies with overseas buyers and real-world demand, he said.