At the intersection of the two rivers, along with the soothing music beat, the lights on the river bank gradually lit up, and the night sky was filled with colorful halo. In an instant, five thousand drones soared into the sky, dotting the sky like stars.
The "high-speed train" roared past, and in a blink of an eye, the "rocket" rose from the ground. In the blink of an eye, it was already the "astronaut" cruising in space... "It's so shocking. The drone formations are unpredictable. No one can guess what the sky will be like in the next second." Mr. Li, a tourist from Henan, said enthusiastically.
This is the National Day performance site of the "New Rhythm Chongqing" drone light show. Chongqing is surrounded by mountains, rivers and gorges. The unique topography has given rise to a patchwork of three-dimensional landscapes, forming an excellent stage for the collision of light and shadow art and digital technology.
"Chongqing's mountains, water, bridges and buildings constitute a three-dimensional urban space with natural cascading ups and downs. The drone light show extends the height difference relationship and landscape outline that originally existed on the ground into the night sky." Lu Xi, one of the main creative staff and dean of the School of Design of Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, said that light and shadow link the natural landforms, urban architecture and art and humanities, giving this "8D magical" city new vitality with dynamic visual space narrative.
Since its debut in April 2025, the "Xinyun Chongqing" drone light show has met citizens and tourists on time every weekend and holiday. So far, it has performed nearly 120 times, attracting more than 12.5 million live viewers.
Camellias, spicy hot pot, Diaojiaolou, Hongya Cave, Yangtze River Cableway, Chuanjiang Haozi... symbols embodying Bayu culture and mountain city memories have appeared on the sky many times. Light and shadow intersect, lights are like day, a "street market in the sky" lights up Chongqing's night at this moment.
On October 1, citizens and tourists watched a drone light show on Nanbin Road in Nan'an District, Chongqing. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhou Siyu
During this year’s National Day holiday, Chongqing once again became one of the popular travel destinations, with many tourists making a special trip to “check in” for the drone light show.
The sky was dark, and people had gathered at the intersection of the two rivers. At 20:30, the performance officially started. "Look! The drone is taking off!" Some held their children high above their heads, some made video calls with their friends to "watch together" in the cloud, and some held up their mobile phones to record the whole process for fear of missing the wonderful scenes.
Technology and humanities are embracing each other tenderly at this moment. After watching the performance, Ms. Zhao, a tourist from Shandong, was still unsatisfied: "It's so shocking. The scene composed of a matrix of giant drones is lifelike and complements the magnificent night view of the mountain city."
Zhang Yangxue, chief director of the "New Rhythm Chongqing" drone light show, said that in order to present a special National Day performance, the team teamed up with Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts and other universities to prepare nearly two months in advance, hoping to "paint" the openness, tolerance, innovation and enthusiasm of the mountain city on the two rivers through different themes such as "Celebrating National Day", "Air Museum" and "City on the Back of Dinosaurs".
On October 1, the "New Rhythm Chongqing" drone light show was held during the National Day performance. (Photo provided by interviewee)
An innovative performance not only became the "traffic code" of urban cultural tourism, but also spawned a new consumption scene of "food, accommodation, travel, shopping and entertainment" along the performance route.
With the "best viewing position" facing the performance area, many restaurants on Nanbin Road experienced peak customer flow during the National Day holiday. "It's too busy at all. There are 40 tables in the store, and at least three tables are turned over a night during peak periods." Zhang Tao, the manager of a hot pot restaurant, told reporters that the window seats in the store are the most popular, and the private rooms are fully booked 3 to 7 days in advance, and many of them are foreign customers.
Zhuang Ningyu, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Nan'an District Culture and Tourism Development Committee, said that Nan'an has given full play to the location advantage of the "main stage" of exhibitions and performances, created a new model of "drone +" cultural tourism consumption, held special activities such as folk intangible cultural heritage, riverside night tours, trendy performances, sports and leisure, and opened up the transformation link of drone light shows from "aerial popularity" to "physical consumption".
On October 1, a hotpot restaurant on Nanbin Road presented diners with a special Sichuan Opera face-changing performance. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhou Siyu
The night was as dark as ink, and the drone's beam slowly narrowed and disappeared into the mist.
The crowd gradually dispersed, and the images that were flickering in the night sky a moment ago were embedded in the slopes of the mountain city and fell into the lights of thousands of houses, as if they had never dissipated.
Planning: Wang Li, Li Huan
Reporters: Zhou Siyu, Zhou Wentao, Zhao Xiaoshuai
Poster: Zhou Siyu
Co-produced by Xinhua News Agency within China and Xinhua News Agency Chongqing Branch
