Dongba Valley, China. A strange classic flying saucer-shaped object, what is this?

[Starflint]

This is a video sent to me by a friend, hoping to figure out what exactly this is. However, I haven't figured out what it is either, so I hope everyone can analyze it:
The video was taken by my friend near the Dongba Valley Scenic Area in Lijiang, Yunnan, China Time Zone, at 4:20 pm on May 2, 2025.

Approximate address：27.01545903498329, 100.20582165223699

According to his own description, he discovered the object while hiking in a scenic area. But it disappeared as soon as he turned around. From the video, the object appears to be moving slowly. It is not a reflective object on a distant mountain. Based on the shape in another clearer photo taken with a phone, my current guess is that it might be a fixed-wing remote-controlled model aircraft.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7fns6Avavo

But the size is uncertain, because judging from the distance in the video, this thing should be much larger than a drone

 

[Mendel]

But the size is uncertain, because judging from the distance in the video, this thing should be much larger than a drone

You can not determine the distance from your video, except that it must be closer than the mountainside behind it. But it could be closer than you think.

If it is a winged airplane/drone, it could be flying towards the camera, or away from it. In other words, maybe it can not hover.

When we see a clip like this, we always wonder why the person stopped filming—did they lose interest?

 

[yoshy]

It looks like a plane seen from directly from the front or back. What's the Chinese equivalent of a Cessna? The plane moving directly toward or away from you would make it look like it's slowly moving or even not moving at all.

 

[yoshy]

It looks like a plane seen from directly from the front or back. What's the Chinese equivalent of a Cessna? The plane moving directly toward or away from you would make it look like it's slowly moving or even not moving at all.

ChatGPT mentioned several planes (including Cessna - I didn't know they had them in China). One example is the DA40. I couldn't find a picture directly from the rear angle (which is the angle I suspect we see in the video). The shape of the plane combined with the distance and low quality from zoom could definitely result in what we see in the video.

 

[NorCal Dave]

ChatGPT mentioned several planes (including Cessna - I didn't know they had them in China). One example is the DA40. I couldn't find a picture directly from the rear angle (which is the angle I suspect we see in the video). The shape of the plane combined with the distance and low quality from zoom could definitely result in what we see in the video.
View attachment 80630View attachment 80631

Was watching something very similar the other day. The distance and the way the light hit the wings, most of the details were masked and it just looked like flying saucer floating along, then it disappeared. That is, it turned and the reflection was gone. It reappeared after bit heading the other way and now clearly a small plane.

 

[Mick West]

Stabilized and contrast enhanced

 

[Mick West]

Approximate address：27.01545903498329, 100.20582165223699

I think it's actually looking a little more to the north, where those two ponds are.

It's not moving much, so it could be a plane coming towards the camera, but could also be a nearby agricultural drone, which apparently are now very common in China.

 

[Ann K]

But the size is uncertain, because judging from the distance in the video, this thing should be much larger than a drone

Given the brilliance of the light on it, compared with most of the buildings at the bottom (except the very nearest ones), it gives the impression of being quite close rather than at a longer distance.

 

[JMartJr]

Given the brilliance of the light on it, compared with most of the buildings at the bottom (except the very nearest ones), it gives the impression of being quite close rather than at a longer distance.

Are these the buildings you are referring to? I'd say the object is throwing us about as much light as they are, and I'd say they are not hugely close, though closer than most other buildings in the shot. But of course, we don;t know what the "reflectiness" of the object, or of the buildings for that matter!

 

[Starflint]

ChatGPT mentioned several planes (including Cessna - I didn't know they had them in China). One example is the DA40. I couldn't find a picture directly from the rear angle (which is the angle I suspect we see in the video). The shape of the plane combined with the distance and low quality from zoom could definitely result in what we see in the video.
ChatGPT 提到了几种飞机（包括赛斯纳——我不知道中国也有这种飞机）。一个例子是 DA40。我找不到从正后方角度的照片（我怀疑视频中看到的就是这个角度）。飞机的形状加上距离和低质量的变焦，完全可能导致我们在视频中看到的效果。
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Thank you for your idea. I looked into it and found that there are indeed fixed-wing aircraft flight experience tours in the Lijiang area, and some of the flight routes do pass through the Dongba Valley Scenic Area.And I searched all the links related to the project online and found that there are currently two types of small fixed-wing aircraft in the Lijiang area, namely the Czech JA600 and the German C42E:
https://www.wingontravel.com/things-to-do/detail?cityID=58&productID=49516228&utm_source=chatgpt.com

However, the shape of the German C42E clearly does not match, while the shape of the Czech JA600, with the cockpit higher than the wings, is more fitting:

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF7yyul7l8c

It's not moving much, so it could be a plane coming towards the camera, but could also be a nearby agricultural drone, which apparently are now very common in China.

I tried searching for aviation data on ADSB, but found nothing. I don't know if FlightRadar24 can find it, but I don't have a membership

 

[jarlrmai]

ADS-B show's nothing, but depending on local rules the plane may not have been transmitting, I did a flight recently in an old Cessna that had no ADS-B record.

ADS-B also relies on someone local with a receiver uploading to the services, this is very common in most places, to the point where we take it for granted but it may not be so in areas of China.

I ran ADSB-Exchange at high speed over that area and nothing appeared at all, I then zoomed out and filtered to 0-7000ft and only airliners on take-off /landing appeared over most of China.

I looked up China's ADS-B regs and it's not 100% clear but it does seem that the current rules would permit not squawking for low altitude light aircraft in some areas, perhaps someone more knowledgeable about the regulations or able to read Mandarin might be able to find definitive rules.

 

[Mick West]

ADS-B show's nothing, but depending on local rules the plane may not have been transmitting, I did a flight recently in an old Cessna that had no ADS-B record.

You also need receivers with a line of sight to the plane. FR24 coverage of the area is very sporadic, even for relatively high planes

It's a semi-rural mountainous area, and there does not seem to be internet ADS-B coverage there. I doubt any plane flying that valley would show up online.

it would show up for other planes and local ATC, if any, but FR24, etc, needs internet repeaters, often run by hobbyists. China has less than 1% of the overage we see in Europe and the US.

The Chinese government is also not a big fan, cracking down in 2021.

Article:

According to the report, Chinese national security authorities have discovered that multiple overseas institutions have been trying since last year to recruit hobbyists in China to share aviation and aircraft data with them, an action that is considered an illegal overseas transfer of data under Chinese law

Source: https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3155895/chinas-crackdown-flight-tracking-devices-leaves-companies-and-hobbyists

 

[Mick West]

In that area, there's basically only one feeding FR24, and it's 250 miles away. So, no, you are not going to see anything.

 

[yoshy]

Thank you for your idea. I looked into it and found that there are indeed fixed-wing aircraft flight experience tours in the Lijiang area, and some of the flight routes do pass through the Dongba Valley Scenic Area.And I searched all the links related to the project online and found that there are currently two types of small fixed-wing aircraft in the Lijiang area, namely the Czech JA600 and the German C42E:
https://www.wingontravel.com/things-to-do/detail?cityID=58&productID=49516228&utm_source=chatgpt.com

However, the shape of the German C42E clearly does not match, while the shape of the Czech JA600, with the cockpit higher than the wings, is more fitting:

Nice research!