Jan. 2, 2026 /Mpelembe Media/ — In June 2025, two Chinese organizations collaborated to produce a monumental light show in Chongqing that officially secured a Guinness World Record. Utilizing a fleet of 11,787 drones, the performance established a new benchmark for the largest aerial image ever created by multirotor aircraft. The event served as a celebration of the city’s 28th anniversary as a municipality while showcasing local advancements in low-altitude technology and tourism. Observers witnessed a series of massive glowing illustrations, including landscapes, animals, and human figures, that spanned the night sky. The sheer magnitude of the operation required multiple adjudicators to verify the achievement on-site. This spectacle highlighted the growing intersection of digital innovation and public art on an unprecedented scale.
The record-breaking aerial display in Chongqing was achieved through a collaboration between two Chinese organizations: Chongqing Broadcasting Media Group Co., Ltd. and Shenzhen DAMODA Intelligent Control Technology Co., Ltd.,.
Together, these entities coordinated a total of 11,787 drones to secure the Guinness World Record for the largest aerial image formed by multirotor/drones,. Their collaboration was driven by several key objectives:
Commemoration: The show, which took place on June 16, served as a tribute to the 28th anniversary of Chongqing’s establishment as China’s fourth municipality,.
Global Promotion: The organizations aimed to demonstrate Chongqing’s progress to the world,.
Economic & Cultural Strategy: The display was designed to promote the integration of the low-altitude economy with the cultural tourism industry,.
The scale of this partnership was immense, requiring two Guinness World Records Adjudicators on-site to oversee the operation,. The drones worked in unison to form massive, life-like images, including a city landscape, mountains, leaping dolphins, and a gigantic tree,.
To visualize the complexity of this achievement, you can think of the two organizations as master conductors of a massive visual symphony; rather than managing musicians, they synchronized nearly 12,000 individual “notes” of light to perform a single, seamless masterpiece across the night sky.
A total of 11,787 drones were used to achieve this world record.
This massive fleet of multirotor aircraft collaborated to create the largest aerial image formed by drones, earning a spot in the Guinness World Records for the organizers. The scale of the operation was so significant that two adjudicators were required on-site to oversee the thousands of drones as they lifted off and moved into position over the river to form various complex images.
To put the scale of 11,787 drones into perspective, imagine every seat in a mid-sized sports arena being occupied by a single, glowing light; now imagine all those thousands of lights lifting into the air simultaneously and moving in perfect coordination to paint a giant, 3D picture against the night sky.
The Chongqing drone show, which took place on June 16, was designed as a tribute to the 28th anniversary of Chongqing’s establishment as China’s fourth municipality,.
Beyond simply marking the date, the collaborating organizations intended for the record-breaking display to:
Showcase progress: Present the city’s developmental advancements to a global audience,.
Promote industry integration: Highlight the fusion of the cultural tourism industry with the low-altitude economy,.
The scale of the celebration was immense, featuring images of the city landscape, mountains, and local characters to honor the municipality’s history and future,.
To put this milestone in perspective, you can think of the drone show as a high-tech birthday card written across the sky; rather than using ink and paper, the city used nearly 12,000 points of light to tell the story of its 28-year journey to the rest of the world.
The record-breaking drone display in Chongqing was designed to promote several strategic economic and tourism-related objectives for the region. According to the sources, the collaborating organizations aimed to:
Promote Industry Integration: A primary goal was to highlight the integration of the low-altitude economy with the cultural tourism industry,. This suggests a strategy of using advanced aerial technology (the low-altitude economy) to enhance and modernize the way the city attracts and entertains tourists.
Showcase Regional Progress: The display was intended to present Chongqing’s developmental progress to a global audience,. By setting a world record with nearly 12,000 drones, the city demonstrated its technological capabilities and industrial growth,.
Enhance Tourism Through Spectacle: By creating massive, life-like images of mountains, city landscapes, and leaping dolphins, the show acted as a “wonderous spectacle” for onlookers,. This type of large-scale event serves to brand the city as a modern, high-tech travel destination.
Commemorate Political and Economic Milestones: The event served as a high-profile tribute to the 28th anniversary of Chongqing becoming China’s fourth municipality,. This milestone celebration reinforces the city’s status and its economic journey since its establishment.
To better understand these goals, you can view the drone show as a digital bridge connecting two different worlds: one side is the high-tech world of aerospace and robotics, and the other is the vibrant world of travel and storytelling. By launching these drones, the city was essentially showing the world how these two industries can work together to build a new kind of economic future.