Wang Jiansen, a 33-year-old agricultural drone pilot from Taizhou in the eastern Jiangsu province, bridges two worlds. With his feet on the ground and his eyes on the sky, he links new technologies with traditional agriculture through the device in his hands: Wang and his fellow pilots make their living by flying agricultural drones, following the seasons to farms across the country.
An emerging profession in China, drone piloting was only officially recognized and added to China’s occupational classification code in 2019. Drone pilots like Wang, defined as individuals who operate remotely controlled aircraft to perform predetermined flight tasks, have seen their profession flourish ever since. By the end of 2023, there were 929,000 registered drone users, 1.3 million registered drones, and 194,400 valid drone pilot licenses in China, according to data from the Civil Aviation Administration.
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