Chinese broadcaster CCTV recently held its 2026 Spring Festival Gala. However, this annual event has gone viral this time, as Chinese companies have showcased some of their best humanoid robots. From martial arts to intricate dance moves, the entire event showcased what a future with robots could look like.

The event was held in Yiwu, a city home to just under 2 million people. Big robotics companies like MagicLab, Unitary Robotics, Noetics Robotics and Beijing Galbot showcased their latest technology in humanoid research and impressed the audience.

robots do martial arts

Uniti Robotics made its third Spring Festival appearance, integrating its G1 and H2 humanoid robots into the martial arts-themed demonstration WuBOT. These robots teamed up with martial arts actors to execute moves ranging from horse stances and flips to nunchaku routines and elements of Drunken Fist.

The demonstration lasted more than 4 minutes, and all the robots moved seamlessly, showing how advanced the technology has become. Not only for movement, but also for overall balance and coordination.

There is so much more

But this was just a demonstration. There were other robots too. MagicLab’s MagicBot Z1 robot managed to complete a 360-degree rotation, called Thomas 360. Noetics Robotics features its robots in comedy sketches. The robots performed movements such as side flips and backflips within a confined 12-square-meter stage.

The grouped display of humanoid robots at the ceremony pointed to broader advances in motion control, balancing algorithms and real-world human-robot interactions in China. As the Global Times reports, “The leap reflects ‘massive progress’.” At a time when Western companies are still developing robots like Tesla Optimus and Neo, Chinese companies may have the upper hand.