Humanoid robots perform kung fu at China's Spring Festival Gala, drawing 23 billion views
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Humanoid robots show off creepily impressive kung-fu moves during Lunar New Year festival in China
Improvements to the AI that powers Unitree's H2 and G1 humanoid robots, alongside mechanical upgrades, have resulted in a dazzling kung-fu demonstration. Humanoid robots have taken part in the world's first fully autonomous martial arts performance to mark the Lunar New Year. In new footage from
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When robots outshine humans, I have to ask: Are we ready?
If you tuned in to China's 2026 CCTV Spring Festival Gala looking for traditional lion dances and nostalgic tunes, you may have done a double-take when what greeted you was a squad of humanoid robots performing kung fu, synchronized moves, and comedy sketches with more precision than most of us
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Bigger than the Super Bowl -- futuristic humanoid robots dominate China's most-watched TV show and leap ahead of the Tesla Optimus
* Humanoid robots starred during China's Spring Festival Gala performance * The event is China's most-watched TV show and got 23 billion views * Some of the robots on show now have order backlogs as interest soars China gave the world a glimpse of its latest humanoid robots at its 2026 Spring
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China's dancing robots: how worried should we be?
Eye-catching martial arts performance at China gala had viewers and experts wondering what else humanoids can do Dancing humanoid robots took centre stage on Monday during the annual China Media Group's Spring Festival Gala, China's most-watched official television broadcast. They lunged and
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Chinese Robots Can Now Run Up Walls
While humanoid robots have a long way to go to prove useful in our day-to-day lives, they've at least made leaps and bounds in showing off their agility on stage. Case in point, the televised Spring Festival Gala put on by the state-run China Media Group over the weekend featured an impressive
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These dancing robots stole the show at Beijing's Lunar New Year fair
Developed by Chinese startups such as Booster Robotics, the AI-powered machines are part of a technology-themed temple fair in China. Humanoid robots are taking centre stage at Lunar New Year celebrations in Beijing, where they're performing lion dances, playing competitive football and preparing
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China's humanoid robots take center stage for Lunar New Year showtime
BEIJING -- China's most-watched TV show, the annual CCTV Spring Festival gala, on Monday showcased the country's cutting-edge industrial policy and Beijing's push to dominate humanoid robots and the future of manufacturing. Four rising humanoid robot startups -- Unitree Robotics, Galbot, Noetix
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China's humanoid robots take centre stage for Lunar New Year showtime
China's most-watched TV show, the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, highlighted its leadership in humanoid robots. Several Chinese startups demonstrated advanced robots, showcasing the nation's manufacturing prowess. China's most-watched TV show, the annual CCTV Spring Festival gala, on Monday showcased
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How China's humanoid robots trained in parkour and martial arts for viral Lunar New Year gala performance - VnExpress International
China's humanoid robots underwent rigorous training in advanced skills such as parkour, acrobatics and martial arts ahead of their viral appearance at the Lunar New Year gala. In a video released by Sina, the robots are seen undergoing intensive training, mastering acrobatic moves and balance
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China's Lunar New Year humanoid robot dance goes viral with 23 billion views - VnExpress International
A humanoid robot dance performance featured in China's Lunar New Year gala has gone viral, drawing more than 23 billion views within just three days. On Feb. 16, Lunar New Year's Eve, China Media Group aired its annual Spring Festival Gala, the country's largest televised event. Leading humanoid
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China showcased its latest humanoid robots at the 2026 Spring Festival Gala, where machines from Unitree Robotics and other firms performed complex martial arts routines, backflips, and synchronized moves. The broadcast drew 23 billion views across all platforms, far surpassing last year's clunky demonstrations. The display signals China's ambitions in AI and robotics manufacturing, though experts note the robots excel at pre-programmed performances rather than real-world adaptability.
Humanoid Robots Take Center Stage at China's Most-Watched Broadcast
China's 2026 Spring Festival Gala transformed into a showcase for the nation's robotics industry, with humanoid robots from Unitree Robotics, Galbot, MagicLab, and Noetix performing intricate kung fu routines, acrobatics, and comedy sketches. The annual broadcast, which China Central Television claims drew 23 billion views across all platforms, featured machines executing backflips reaching heights of approximately 10 feet, wall-assisted flips, and continuous freestyle table-vaulting parkour
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. The spectacle marks a dramatic leap from last year's Spring Festival Gala, where robots appeared stiff and awkward, shuffling across stages with limited motions4
.The Unitree G1 robot emerged as the viral breakout star, with its martial arts demonstrations so athletic that viewers initially suspected AI-generated footage. Priced at approximately 85,000 yuan ($12,300) in China, the G1 now faces delivery delays pushed back to early March due to surging interest
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. The more affordable Noetix Bumi, a child-sized robot featured in comedy sketches at just 10,000 yuan ($1,450), has seen its delivery timeline extend to late April3
.AI and Engineering Breakthroughs Power Synchronized Moves
Unitree representatives attribute the performance improvements to advances in AI alongside mechanical upgrades and enhanced lidar processing. Engineers spent months since November 2025 preparing, pretraining a stunt-motion model using extensive training data from an array of stunts
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. The robots received upgraded motors for higher power density, optimized limb robustness, and new dextrous hands to support rapid position switching and prop handling1
.The cluster control platform upgrade enabled end-to-end automation from AI-planned choreography to real-time multirobot coordination with millisecond-level synchronization
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. Georg Stieler, head of robotics and automation at Stieler Technology and Marketing, noted that "the ability to run large numbers of near-identical humanoids in synchronised motion with stable gaits and consistent joint behaviour" signals genuine progress4
. However, he cautioned that "stage performance does not equate to industrial robustness," as these movements result from training routines "hundreds or thousands of times"4
.Technological Prowess Meets Industrial Policy
The kung fu performance represents more than entertainment—it's a deliberate signal of China's manufacturing and AI ambitions. Kyle Chan, an expert in China's technology development at Brookings Institution, explained that Beijing uses these public robot performances to "dazzle domestic and international audiences with China's technological prowess"
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. The timing aligns with China entering the first year of its next five-year plan, where robotics has been highlighted as a major growth engine3
.By the end of 2024, China had registered 451,700 smart robotics companies with total capital of 6.44 trillion yuan (approximately $932.16 billion)
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. Morgan Stanley projects that China's humanoid sales will more than double to 28,000 units in 20264
. Unitree Robotics aims to ship 20,000 humanoids this year, approximately four times more than in 20253
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Embodied Intelligence: The Next Frontier
Unitree CEO Wang Xingxing emphasized that embodied intelligence—a robot's ability to learn by physically interacting with its environment rather than traditional AI training—represents the true game-changer. "If there are breakthroughs in embodied AI models and robotics technology that can truly be applied at scale in the coming years, the heat could be 100 or even 1,000 times higher than it is now," Wang told China's CCTV state broadcaster
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.Yet experts note current limitations. Robotics specialists point out that most humanoids excel at pre-programmed movements but lack true autonomous adaptability in unpredictable environments
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. The robots remain "amazing performers on cue, not yet ready to be your personal caregiver or industrial line worker without a lot more training and development"2
.Technological Competition Intensifies
Elon Musk acknowledged China's lead during an earnings call, stating "by far, the biggest competition for humanoid robots will be from China"
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. He noted that "people outside of China underestimate China, but China's an ass-kicker next-level"4
. Tesla Optimus robots still heavily rely on human remote operators, with Musk saying the company will likely begin selling its humanoid "probably sometime next year"3
.Chan added that "while China and the US are neck-and-neck on AI, humanoid robots are an area where China can claim to be ahead of the US, particularly in terms of scaling up production"
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. The spectacle thrusts humanoid robots into public imagination while signaling to investors and rival nations that robot development has moved from research labs to prime-time technology theater2
. Whether these acrobatic capabilities translate into practical applications—from factory automation to household chores—remains the critical question as the robotics industry navigates between impressive demonstrations and real-world utility5
.References
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