The martial arts performance "WuBot" at the 2026 Spring Festival Gala. Photo: Screenshot from CCTV 2026 Spring Festival Gala

The dazzling performances by humanoid robots at China's 2026 Spring Festival Gala made headlines on multiple overseas media outlets, and their video clips flooded social media platforms within hours.

Reuters noted that the four companies showcasing their products at the Gala demonstrated the China's cutting-edge industrial policy and push to dominate humanoid robots and the future of manufacturing.

The report also mentioned that Elon Musk said he expects his biggest competitor to be Chinese companies as he pivots Tesla toward a focus on embodied AI and its flagship humanoid Optimus. 

Humanoid robots from four Chinese companies - Unitree Robotics, Noetix, MagicLab, and Galbot - participated in the performances on Monday night.

The UK media outlet The Sun posted a video of the Gala's robot performances on YouTube, describing them as "incredible acrobatics and synchronized Kung Fu stunts." A YouTube user "@johnwe4431" commented, "Couldn't believe my eyes, [the performance] truly shocking." Another user, "@C.Zacarias-Main," commented, "It's fascinating to see robots learn Chinese traditional martial arts. The freedom of movement of these robots is outstanding."

An AP News report called robots performance "one of the highlights" of the 2026 Spring Festival Gala, noting that it reflects China's push to develop more advanced robots powered by improved AI capabilities.

A report by the South China Morning Post said the performances showcased the progress made by humanoid technology in China thus far, with entertainment still the main outlet before these robots realize their longer-term potential as efficient industrial workers.

Posts and reposts of the videos showing the robots performing at the Gala also flooded social media within hours.

X user "YM Shen" commented, "Tool usage, force feedback, human interaction, self-recovery after jumps. Amazing!" Another X user, "Everim Kanbur," compared this year's show with last year's Yangko dance, saying, "The progress in just one year is magical."

Another X user, "Chinese Barrak", wrote that humanoid robots performing synchronized kung fu choreography at the New Year Gala showcases impressive motion control advancements, noting that complex martial arts movements require precise balance and coordination, and demonstrate that robotics capabilities have reached new levels.

Yu Lei, chief director of the 2026 Spring Festival Gala, said this year's Gala featured a high "concentration" of robots, aiming to show the audience the multidimensional development of China's robotics industry.

The robots' eye-catching performances also boosted consumer demand. At 10 pm on Chinese New Year's Eve during the Gala's live show, JD.com listed multiple robots for sale, including models featured at the Gala. Within minutes of the launch, robots from brands including MagicLab, Unitree Robotics, and Noetix were sold out. Among them, two Galbot general-purpose robots G1 priced at nearly 630,000 yuan ($91,190.04) were snapped up instantly, according to JD.com.

Fully upgrade

According to the program sequence, MagicLab's humanoid robot MagicBot Gen1 was the first to appear at the grand opening performance, waving to the audience. MagicBot Z1 demonstrated the "Thomas 360" stunt move, marking the first time a humanoid robot of similar size in the industry completed the move, according to the company.

MagicLab's humanoid robot MagicBot Gen1 (left) and MagicBot Z1 at the opening of 2026 Spring Festival Gala. Photo: Screenshot from CCTV 2026 Spring Festival Gala

Next was a short stage comedy "Grandma's Favorite" featuring renowned Chinese actress Cai Ming, young actor Wang Tianfang, and Noetix's robot products N2, E1, Bumi. The performance featured a bionic humanoid robot mimicking Cai's appearance. Its facial structure uses a highly compact drive design, shrinking overall size by 30 percent while retaining motion control precision equal to larger systems. The bionic facial skin integrates 32 motors, including 12 dedicated to the mouth, for detailed expressions and precise lip-sync.

Noetix's bionic humanoid robot (right) mimicking Cai Ming's appearance at the short stage comedy "Grandma's Favorite." Photo: Screenshot from CCTV 2026 Spring Festival Gala

Notably, Cai portrayed a custom-ordered robot wife in a short stage play at the 1996 Spring Festival Gala, reflecting public aspirations for future technological life in the 1990s. Netizens said the bionic robot paid tribute to and continued that "robot" role from 30 years ago.

This was followed by Unitree's martial arts performance "WuBot." Unitree's H1 robots performed table-vaulting parkour, 3-meter aerial flips, single-leg flips, and an airflare grand spin of seven-and-a-half rotations and other high-difficulty movements - a significant upgrade from their Yangko dance performance at the 2025 event.

Unitree's H1 humanoid robots at "WuBot" martial arts performance. Photo: Screenshot from CCTV 2026 Spring Festival Gala

Compared with last year's Yangko performance, Unitree implemented systematic upgrades across algorithms, hardware, and systems to deliver the high-difficulty kung fu routine. "The move is highly practical and lays the groundwork for future robot deployment in cluster operations or single-unit scheduling across other scenarios," Unitree founder Wang Xingxing said in a report by CCTV News.

As the final act among three consecutive major robot-involved performances, six MagicBot Z1 units and two MagicBot Gen1 units from MagicLab shared the stage with artists including Yi Yangqianxi and Jerry Yan in a song-and-dance performance called. Their movements and timing were tightly synchronized, with rapid turns and connected jumps executed smoothly and consistently, achieving zero-error performance, MagicLab said.

MagicLab's humanoid robots MagicBot Z1 perform with Jerry Yan. Photo: Screenshot from CCTV 2026 Spring Festival Gala

Galbot's robots performing with actor Shen Teng and actress Ma Li in a short film. They handled delicate tasks — from rolling walnuts in the hand to folding clothes — with agile, human-like movements. The company said the performance was powered by its integrated end-to-end large model, AstraBrain, combining "brain-cerebellum-neural control" for full-body and full-hand coordination.

Galbot's humanoid robot G1 passes a bottle of water to actor Shen Teng. Photo: Screenshot from CCTV 2026 Spring Festival Gala

Greater momentum

It is noteworthy that both the number of humanoid robots and the quality of their movements at this year's Gala saw leapfrog improvements compared with previous years, and they participated in a wide range of program formats including language-based skits, song and dance, action performances, and short films. 

Wang said the participation of four companies in 2026 signals a shift in technological focus toward perception and decision-making, and indicates that the robot industry supply chain has matured.

Wang said that if 2025 was the "inaugural year" of concept popularization, 2026 is the "application year" of deep scenario deployment of humanoid robot. "Robots now span martial arts, skits, and songs, linking to industrial inspection, home companionship, and commercial services, showing the industry is moving beyond mere technical display toward a full ecosystem from foundational models to real-world applications," he noted.

Such structural changes are also reflected in companies' commercialization progress and capital market moves. In 2025, Unitree's humanoid robot shipments increased significantly, and the company initiated IPO guidance, signaling that the market leader has completed its commercial closed loop. Other market players include MagicLab, GALAXEA, DEEP Robotics, and Leju Robotics, are also pushing their IPO processes.

These industry milestones reflect China's strong strategic emphasis on technological development and innovation.

Embodied intelligence has been written into the 2025 Government Work Report and the Communist Party of China Central Committee's recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30).