Chinese Humanoid Robots Steal the Show at 2026 Spring Festival Gala

At China's 2026 CCTV Spring Festival Gala on February 17, humanoid robots from four robotics companies performed in front of hundreds of millions of viewers. The showcase dramatically illustrated how far Chinese robotics has come from the viral stumbling videos of just two years ago.

Performances by Company

Unitree Robotics: G1 and H1 humanoid robots performed alongside martial arts actors, demonstrating a horse stance, flips, nunchaku routines, and elements of Drunken Fist.

MagicLab: MagicBot Gen1 performed interactive gestures, while MagicBot Z1 executed the high-difficulty Thomas 360-degree spin.

Noetix Robotics: Multiple robots—Bumi, N2, and E1—performed side flips, backflips, and acrobatic stunts within a tight 12-square-meter stage area.

Beijing Galbot: Appeared in a holiday short film, demonstrating voice interaction, clothes folding, and object grasping while collaborating with human actors.

Significance

The performances collectively highlighted rapid advances in motion control, balance algorithms, and human-robot interaction. Unitree targets between 10,000 and 20,000 humanoid robot shipments in 2026, signaling that China's robotics industry is moving quickly from demos to commercial scale.

Source: TechNode