Over 1000 drones light up sky in magnificent record-setting display in China (VIDEOS)

The night skyline of the Chinese city of Guangzhou lit up by a spectacular show in which hundreds of drones took to the air. In putting on the show, the city broke its own world record for the biggest number of drones involved in one performance.

Spectators reached for their phones to capture the dazzling light show as some 1,180 drones soared up against the backdrop of futuristic skyscrapers, gleaming in different colors. Marking the end of the 2017 Fortune Global Forum on Thursday, the display saw the swarm of aircrafts forming the Chinese ideograms for “innovation,”“open” and “fortune.” A ship and a kapok flower, the city’s official symbol, also showed up in the sky.

The eight-minute show was orchestrated by a single operator, the Asia Times reported. The drone manufacturer eHang developed a system to manage the one-ton squad on a single console, enabling the aircrafts to sync with each other.

“Drones can produce very impressive artistic effects,” company official in charge of the event Li Zhiyuan said, as quoted by the SCMP. “We hope that drone performances can one day replace fireworks in the business of night sky illumination.” Each of the drones had a price tag of some 10,000 yuan ($1,500), he added.

Earlier this year, the southern city hosted the Lantern Festival, when 1,000 drones set a Guinness World Record for the largest number of the aerial vehicles to simultaneously perform together.