Drones Over the Great Cities of Asia

Two-time DVA Winner Timelab.pro does it again with this absolutely magnificent piece from Hong Kong. Filmed using a DJI Zenmuse X7 mounted to an Inspire 2 drone, this is some of the best aerial footage of the great city we've ever seen. The video kicks off with some spectacular footage of the city's skyline, generally considered to be the world's most prominent due to the number of tall buildings here. Then the action shifts to show the massive container port here just as the sun is rising. This video earned a nomination at the 6th Annual NYCDFF.

Prepare to be amazed by this fantastic nighttime drone video from Shanghai, China, compliments of top AirVuz contributor and former Drone Video Award winner Panvelvet.  The video will take you over and through this fantastically modern city, now home to one of the world's most impressive skylines.  Shot during the evening hours and expertly edited (including some brilliant timelapses), you will be taken through the canyons created by its giant structures, over the historical Bund area, and along the Huangpu River.    

Check out this DVOW nominated video of the Indonesian metropolis of Jakarta, compliments of bboytekki. The video opens with a great shot of the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex, one of the largest football stadiums in Southeast Asia. From there you'll be taken over the canyons created by the skyscrapers of central Jakarta, dozens of which have been built in the past few years. You'll also get aerial glimpses of some of the city's massive highways and interchanges, its waterfront, and other sights in this amazing and dynamic city.    

Japan's capital Tokyo is center of the largest metropolitan area in the world.  In this video, which was nominated for the Drone Video of the Year Awards in the Cities category, contributor Big Head Greg takes us on an aerial tour of this gigantic city.  It is situated at the confluence of several rivers on the east coast of the island of Honshu (the largest of Japan's four main islands), at the head of Tokyo Bay on the Pacific Ocean.  Tokyo hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics and will be hosting its second in 2020. 

Prepare to be amazed by this stunning day-and-night drone video of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam by top AirVuz contributor dronesantana007.  The video opens with a shot flying towards Bitexco Financial Center, briefly Vietnam's tallest building and still distinguished by its 52nd floor helipad.  Around the :54 mark, you'll fly over the Ba Son Bridge, which spans the Saigon River and opened in 2022.  At 2:25, there's another shot looking past the bridge toward the Landmark 81 tower, the second-tallest skyscraper in Southeast Asia as of 2024.  

He’s been nominated for a Drone Video Award for his aerial work featuring the city of Dubai, but this time around Bachir_Photo_Phactory is taking things up a notch. Featuring shots of the Arabian Desert, the Al Farooq Omar Bin Al Khattab Mosque, and the dozens of skyscrapers that make up Dubai’s skyline including the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa. He’ll also include shots of car racing, polo players, camels, horseback riders and many other people that make up the city.

The city-state of Singapore lies almost on the equator, at the tip of the Malaysian peninsula.  Singapore's most spectacular scenery is of the massive skyscrapers which tower over the metropolis.  In this stunning video, AirVuz contributor Big Head Greg uses a DJI Phantom 4 drone to capture the essence of this amazing world-city, including shots of the skyline, the Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay Sands, and more sights from this remarkable city-state.

The capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, is one of the fastest growing metropolitan regions in Southeast Asia. Its beautiful skyline can be seen in this Drone Video of the Week nominated video by content creator Kakikujalanjalan. You’ll see the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, Federal Territory Mosque Kuala Lumpur, Menara Kuala Lumpur (which features the world’s seventh highest tower), the brand new Exchange 106 Tower, and so much more from dust to dawn in this aerial masterpiece.

Banpo Hangang Park is situated on the Han River in Seoul, the great metropolis which is both the capital of and the and largest city in South Korea.  AirVuz contributor Roam with John created an amazing video by flying his drone over this park during the day and also at night.  You'll get a splendid view of the park as well as the gleaming skyline of Seoul.  Having been thrust on the world stage as host of the 1988 Summer Olympics, Seoul is now the center of one of the world's largest metropolitan areas.    

Top contributor Haussmannvisuals created this memorable 60 second aerial tour of Guangzhou in southern China.  It's the capital of the province of the same name, the largest in the country by population and in many respects its economic dynamo.  It's also home to some of the world's tallest buildings.  In the video you'll see some epic footage of the 111 floor, 530 meter (about 1.7k ft.) CTC Financial Center (#6 in the world at year-end 2018), the Guangzhou IFC (439 meter, 1.45k ft.), and more.

Top content creator and drone pilot Hamza Mujtaba treats us to a drone's eye view of Istanbul, Turkey.  While the Turkish city has long been one of the world's most well known, in recent decades its recognition has been boosted by appearing in numerous James Bond movies.  Its first appearance was as a primary shooting location for the 1963 hit From Russia with Love; the opening scene of the film (the second in the series) takes place around Hagia Sophia mosque, captured in the opening of this video.

This drone video of Shenzen, China by contributor and pilot caldina3188 was nominated for the Drone Video of the Week in July, 2019.  Comparatively not well known outside of China, Shenzen is the country's fourth-largest city after Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou.  Like Guangzhou, Shenzen is situated on the great Pearl River Delta in the southeastern part of the country.  Shot at night, the video features some amazing footage of the city's skyscrapers as well as the Eiffel Tower replica at its Window of the World Theme Park.  

The Makati district of Manila in the Philippines is the capital city's primary financial district.  It's located southeast of the city center, on the south bank of the Pasig River.  The modern glass skyscrapers of Makati are perhaps the most visible sign of the growth of Manila in recent decades.  In this video, contributor JC Gellidon used a Phantom DJI Phantom 4 drone to create an aerial video of this area on New Years' Eve 2018, capturing the amazing effect of fireworks against the outline-lit skyscrapers.

In this video, AirVuz contributor and drone pilot DroneBangladesh gives us a nice 60 second look at the great Bangladeshi capital city of Dhaka.  Situated near the exact center of this South Asian country, the city is one of the largest in the world.  It's estimated that nearly 20 million people live in the greater Dhaka metropolitan area in 2018.  When Bangladesh broke away from Pakistan following a civil war in the early 1970's, Dhaka was the natural choice to become the capital city for the new nation.

In this drone video, contributor justhowes does a phenomenal job of capturing the Vietnamese capital city of Hanoi.  The city lies in the interior of northern Vietnam on the Red River, one of the most important waterways in Southeast Asia.  It's the country's second most populous city, with a metropolitan population of over 15 million.  The video will take you over some of the most well known spots of this 1,000 year old city, which was the capital of North Vietnam prior to reunification following the Vietnam War. 

Contributor DavidLee created this magnificent drone video of the great Chinese city of Nanjing, also known as Nanking, home of one of China's tallest skyscrapers.  Situated on the Yangtze River, it's one of the most important historical and cultural cities in China, and was the site of the infamous Rape of Nanjing in the early stages of World War II.  Since 2010, the city has also been home to the 66 story Greenland Center-Zifeng Tower, which stands at 450 meters (just under 1.5k ft.) and dominates its skyline.  

Brand-new contributor Walter Aerial used a DJI Inspire 3 drone to create this marvelous aerial tour of Taipei, capital of the island nation of Taiwan.  The video opens with a series of nighttime shots of the city, which lies at the northern tip of the island.  At the 1:00 mark, there's a magnificent shot of the Taipei 101 tower, the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2009 and still Taiwan's tallest.  Other highlights include a fireworks display along the Tamsui River at the 2:45 mark, the city's port (3:07), and more.  

Contributor and drone pilot borje_zy brings us this amazing aerial tour of Tianjin, China's fourth largest city by population.  The northeasternmost of China's major cities, Tianjin is also the principal port serving the capital city Beijing which is only a 90 minute drive away.  Founded in the 15th century, Tianjin also has great cultural and historical importance, particularly during the Boxer Rebellion at the turn of the 20th century which inaugurated a long period of civil unrest in China.

Yangon, once known as Rangoon, is the largest city in Myanmar, once known as Burma.  Founded in the 11th century, the city was relatively unimportant until Great Britain colonized the region in the 19th century and made it the capital of British Burma.  The city is no longer the country's capital, which was moved to Naypyidaw.  In this video, content creator and pilot Alex Dyl gives us a bird's eye view of this Southeast Asian metropolis, which is home to approximately 8 million people as of 2018. 

Check out this stunning nighttime dronelapse of Kuwait City, compliments of contributor mungkey.  Situated near the middle of the country's Persian Gulf coastline, Kuwait City is home to about half the country's population.  The video includes some epic shots of the ball-shaped Kuwait Towers as well as Al Hamra Tower, the 80 floor architectural masterpiece which is the country's tallest skyscraper, standing 414 meters (about 1.35k ft.).  This video was picked as a DVOW winner in July, 2019.  

Chongqing is China's third-largest city after Shanghai and Beijing.  It's located near the confluence of the Jialing and Yangtze Rivers, a bit under 1.7k km (just over 1k mi.) west-southwest of Shanghai.  In this excellent drone video by new AirVuz contributor philipp_danneberg, you'll get an aerial tour of the great city, which was the Chinese capital during World War II.  The video features some excellent footage of the city's famous pagodas and towering skyscrapers, the Great Hall of the People (at the 1:30 mark), and more.  

Check out these outstanding 60 second drone video of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, compliments of AirVuz contributor Drone Eye Perspective.  Located at the confluence of several of the most important rivers in south-central Cambodia, Phnom Penh is the political, commercial, and cultural capital of this Southeast Asian country.  Founded in the 14th century and one-time capital of the Khmer Empire, the city regained its capital status in the mid-19th century during the French Colonial period, when it became known as the "Pearl of Asia".    

Contributor IlkerCagatayAsik brings us this amazing wintertime aerial view of Ankara, the great Turkish capital city.  Located in the middle of the country in the Central Anatolia region, it's now the country's second-largest city after Istanbul.  Ankara's remarkable growth parallels the rise of modern Turkey; when Ankara became the center of the Turkish Nationalist movement in 1920, Ankara had a population of less than 50k.  Fast-forward a century, and it's the center of a metropolitan area of over 5 million! 

New contributor Frankie_xia brings us this excellent drone video of the city of Chengdu, China.  Capital of the southwestern province of Sichuan, Chengdu is the second-largest city in an interior province after Chongqing.  Situated on the Jin River (a Yangtze tributary), Chendu was the last mainland Nationalist holdout during the Chinese Civil War which ended in 1949.  The video features footage of the city's riverfront and skyscrapers; at the :23 mark you'll see the New Century Global Center, the world's largest building by floor area.  

Top AirVuz contributor and pilot BeemFlights brings us this DVOW nominated film from the great Indonesian city of Bandung. The capital of the province of West Java, Bandung is the country's fourth largest city (after Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bekasi) and the center of its third-largest metropolitan area.  Situated in a river valley and surrounded by mountains, Bandung's elevation of 770 meters above sea level (around 2.5k ft.) provides it with cooler climate compared to the country's other large cities.  

Built in the 1960s to replace Karachi as the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad is a prominent example of a planned capital city, in the vein of Brasilia or (from earlier in the century) Canberra.  Currently, the city is home to about a million residents (closer to 4 million in the Islamabad-rawalpindi metro area) who enjoy a high-standard of living and plenty of green space.  In this aerial video, drone pilot Mustafaalinafai employs the popular hyperlapse editing technique to showcase the orderly beauty of Islamabad. 

Check out this amazing drone video of the fantastically wealthy Persian Gulf city of Doha, by top contributor Fit Lam Studios. Doha is the main city of Qatar, which has the distinction of being the world's wealthiest country measured by per capita income (as of 2017).  With a metropolitan population of nearly 2.5 million, Doha is the home of almost nine in ten Qataris.  Doha sports an impressive skyline, with nearly two dozen skyscrapers over 150 meters (500 ft.) in height and more under construction as of early 2019.

Check out this fascinating drone tour of Lahore, Pakistan, compliments of new AirVuz contributor vasiq eqbal.  The video was filmed both during and after the Covid-19 lockdowns in the Spring of 2020 which left many of the public spaces in Pakistan's second-largest city virtually empty.  Helpfully captioned, the video features footage of the Pakistan Monument, GC University, the Eiffel Tower, the Lahore Motorway, Data Darbar, the Grand Mosque Bahria, the Old Toninton Market, the Badshahi Mosque, Punjab University, and more.  

The Pakistani city of Karachi is not nearly as old as Lahore, nor is it the capital since it ceded that position to the planned city of Islamabad in the 1960's.  It is, however, the country's largest and richest city, and in most respects its most important.  Situated on the Arabian Sea, Karachi is the capital of the province of Sindh, Pakistan's second most populous after Punjab.  Check out this aerial view of this metropolis of over 15 million, which was founded in its present form in the 18th century.  

In this video, contributor and drone pilot Marc Piramide takes us on an aerial tour of the second largest city in the Philippines.  Cebu City, on the island of Cebu, is the center of a metropolitan area of about 3 million as of 2018, making it the second largest urban area in the Philippines.  It is the dominant city of the Visayan Islands, as the central part of the country known.  Known as the oldest city in the Philippines, the port of Cebu City is one of the country's most important, particularly for domestic trade. 

Ningbo is one of the great cities of the Yangtze River Delta.  Situated in the province of Zhejiang, it occupies the southern part of the great estuary.  It's one of the oldest cities in the country, with settlements dating to nearly 5,000 BC.  Carved by numerous canals, the city's port on the East China Sea is amongst the world's busiest, rivaling that of Shanghai.  In this video, you'll be able to see this ancient city from a bird's eye perspective, compliments of contributor and drone pilot Dankstarr.    

Aerialindians created this excellent drone reel of India's national capital New Delhi.  The city is its own federal territory and lies in the north central part of the country.  New Delhi was built relatively recently, in the early 20th century, to the southwest of the old Mughal capital of Delhi.  It was constructed as the new capital of India under British rule, which had previously been in Kolkata (Calcutta).  Situated on the Yamuna River, it's India's largest city, with a metropolitan population of over 25 million.  

Check out this professional drone reel from the great Indian city of Bangalore, compliments of Shazar.  Shot with a DJI Mavic Air, the video features footage from across the city, the capital of the South Indian state of Karnataka and the country's #3 city by population after Delhi and Mumbai.  Featured locations include the magnificent 19th century Tudor Revival style Bangalore Palace (now the home of the Central College), the Vidhana Soudha (seat of the state legislature), the State Central Library, Cubbon Park, and more.