The skies above the Chinese city of Xi'an have been lit up thanks to more than 1,300 drones which put on a dazzling display to achieve a new record for the Most unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) airborne simultaneously.

In total, 1,374 drones took to the air to effectively become high-tech pixels and help create a number of colourful scenes including Xi'an City Wall, Silk Road, Dayan Tower, the number 1,374, high speed rail and Xi'an flower, the pomegranate.

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The attempt was organised by city officials and the local government to promote Xi'an, capital of the Shaanxi province, with the UAVs being supplied by Ehang Egret.

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Taking off along the narrow Xi'an City Wall, the drones' formation measured 1.2 km wide, 100 m deep and 260 m high in the night sky.

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74 red silks were also hoisted into the air to symbolise the common prosperity of 74 countries along the Belt and Road, a development strategy proposed by the Chinese government that focuses on connectivity and cooperation between Eurasian countries. 

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The Silk Road scene was depicted because Xi'an has long been a central point of the Silk Road economic belt, while the number 1,374 represents the largest and most intact ancient city wall which is 13.74 km long.

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The attempt took place on Sunday 29 April, ahead of a public demonstration (which wasn't an official record attempt) on Tuesday 1 May as part of China's Labour Day celebrations when the certificate presentation took place. 

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The show was planned by the main team of "Beijing 8 Minutes" in the closing ceremony of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. 

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Xi'an city's achievement has taken the record away from Intel which has been the title holder since 2015.

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In that time, the record has risen from 100 in 2015 to 500 a year later to 1,218 in December 2017, before 1,374 flew over Xi'an. 

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