MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

China showcases humanoid robots at its Spring Festival Gala with kung fu routines for a mass audience

Organisers leaned on a familiar cultural symbol —kung fu— as a way to translate innovation into a language widely understood by domestic audiences

China put humanoid robots front and centre at its Spring Festival Gala —the country’s biggest annual television event— featuring a choreographed martial-arts routine with traditional weapons such as swords and nunchucks, acrobatics and tightly synchronised sequences alongside human performers.

Aired on state television on Lunar New Year’s Eve, the gala has been a cultural fixture since 1983 and is listed by Guinness World Records for its television reach.

The 2026 performance was framed as a high-visibility technology showcase at a time when Beijing is pushing faster adoption of advanced robotics in manufacturing. Reuters has described the broadcast as an event on a scale comparable to the US Super Bowl, blending popular culture with political signalling and industrial ambition in a single night.

Unitree’s humanoid robots just lit up China’s Spring Festival Gala - dancing, moving, and stunning millions live on stage. What once felt like science fiction is now prime-time entertainment. Are robots becoming the next cultural superstars, or is this the future arriving faster… pic.twitter.com/QOdwx5yWQ7

— Qonversations (@theQonversation) February 17, 2026

Reuters reported that four rising robotics firms took part in this year’s gala: Unitree Robotics, Galbot, Noetix and MagicLab. Footage carried by international outlets and the event feed shows multiple robots executing combat patterns and precise group coordination, marking a step up from simpler demonstrations in previous editions.

Organisers leaned on a familiar cultural symbol —kung fu— as a way to translate innovation into a language widely understood by domestic audiences. Beyond spectacle, the routine highlighted capabilities that matter outside entertainment: dynamic balance, force control, multi-agent coordination and recovery after complex moves, features relevant to structured workplace tasks as well as staged performances.

The gala spotlight also comes as China’s humanoid-robot market expands. Industry estimates cited in specialised reporting suggest Chinese manufacturers accounted for the vast majority of global humanoid shipments last year, alongside forecasts of stronger sales growth in 2026 in what remains an early but fast-moving market.

For producers, the message was twofold: continuity with a broadcast tradition of extraordinary reach, and a public demonstration of a technology China increasingly wants to move from the stage to the factory floor.