China’s annual CCTV Spring Festival Gala transformed into a global technology showcase this year as humanoid robots performed an intricate kung fu routine live on stage, a striking demonstration of the nation’s advances in robotics and artificial intelligence.
Dozens of G1 humanoid robots, developed by Unitree Robotics, delivered what has been described as the world’s first fully autonomous martial arts performance by machines, according to CGTN. The routine featured rapid stance changes, tightly synchronised formations and swift spatial adjustments, highlighting breakthroughs in motion control and balance.
The gala also unveiled Unitree’s H2 robot, which appeared at venues in Beijing and Yiwu clad in Great Sage armour and mounted on a robotic dog, executing the legendary “Somersault Cloud” move as part of the festivities.
International news agency Reuters framed the spectacle as more than entertainment, portraying it as a national platform for China’s industrial ambitions and its push to lead future intelligent manufacturing. The broadcast included demonstrations from emerging humanoid robotics firms such as Galbot, Noetix and MagicLab, alongside Unitree.
Several segments blended cutting‑edge robotics with traditional performance art. In one extended martial arts sequence, more than a dozen humanoids wielding swords, staffs and nunchucks performed complex combat movements in synchrony with child actors. The choreography even recreated the unstable sways and backward tumbles of “drunken boxing,” illustrating progress in multi‑robot coordination and systems that allow machines to regain stability after a fall.
Elsewhere in the programme, ByteDance’s AI chatbot Doubao featured in the opening sketch. Noetix robots joined actors in a comedy segment, while MagicLab machines delivered a synchronised dance to the song “We Are Made in China.”
Reacting to the display on X, tech commentator Evrim Kanbur wrote: “They just executed a coordinated martial arts routine with spatial precision, rhythm control and dynamic balance adjustments in real time… Kung fu, one of China’s most iconic traditional art forms, is performed by machines built with cutting‑edge AI control systems, advanced actuators and high‑speed feedback loops. Ancient discipline meets algorithmic precision.”
Kanbur added that last year marked the first appearance of humanoid robots on the Gala stage, but this year they “held synchronised kung fu stances with balance that would humble half of us after leg day. And they did it live!!! On the most‑watched television event on the planet.”
Together, the performances signalled a shift in humanoid robotics from research laboratories to mainstream cultural stages, offering a vivid glimpse of how China envisions the next era of automation.
