History landed with a buzz on Mudun Island this week—literally! A drone packed with newspapers and parcels touched down, marking the thrilling debut of Jiangsu’s first drone mail service, a game-changer for isolated communities.  

Tucked away in Hongze Lake (Suqian), the quaint 1.96km² Mudun Island is home to 150+ families. For generations, supplies arrived by sluggish boat deliveries—expensive, inefficient, and unreliable. Urgent parcels? Fresh groceries? Forget it. Delays were the norm, leaving islanders stuck in a logistical time warp.  

But here’s where it gets cool: Jiangsu’s new drone route zips between the island and mainland in a 20-minute round trip, costing just 2 RMB per flight (cheaper than a bubble tea!). While boats chugged along once daily, drones swoop in multiple times, hauling 20 parcels per trip. Three flights a day.  Islanders’ needs covered, from medicine to mangoes.  

The buzz doesn’t stop there. Jiangsu plans to roll out regular flight schedules soon and even putting drones to work on return trips: imagine fresh catches of fish and crabs speeding to mainland markets at drone speed!  

This high-flying mail route isn’t just delivering packages—it’s delivering possibilities. Jiangsu’s drones are rewriting the rules of island life, one propellor spin at a time!