Where cars fly

Power moves: A two-seater flying taxi in Hefei; the craft is piloted remotely, not by someone sitting next to you. — Photos: Qilai Shen/The New York Times

AS an American reporter living in Beijing, I’ve watched both China and the rest of the world flirt with cutting-edge technologies involving robots, drones and self-driving vehicles.

But China has now raced far beyond the flirtation stage. It’s rolling out fleets of autonomous delivery trucks, experimenting with flying cars and installing parking lot robots that can swap out your EV’s dying battery in just minutes. There are drones that deliver lunch by lowering it from the sky on a cable.