Robots on the big stage: what China's gala and robot games really showed

Humanoid robots have appeared at China's televised Spring Festival Gala two years running. A handkerchief dance in January 2025 was followed by kung fu routines with flips in February 2026. Over the same period, robot boxing and the World Humanoid Robot Games put robots into competition. The performances are real, but most stage routines are rehearsed choreography. Sport is where organisers have begun to separate operator control from genuine autonomy.

The 2025 gala: sixteen H1 robots and a handkerchief dance

At the gala on Lunar New Year's Eve, 28 January 2025, Unitree put 16 of its full-size H1 humanoids on stage. They performed a folk dance with spinning handkerchiefs. In CGTN's behind-the-scenes report, the robots are described as 1.8 metres tall and 47 kilograms. The report says the routine took three months of rehearsal.

The same report explains how the routine worked, and it is a useful reality check. The dance movements were designed in advance and then refined through AI training. The robots used laser SLAM (simultaneous localisation and mapping, a way for a machine to work out where it is from laser scans) to hold their positions and change formation automatically. Handling the handkerchiefs was a mechanical job. According to Unitree's representative, two motors at the end of each arm did the work: one kept the cloth spinning and the other threw it out and pulled it back.

In other words, the 2025 act was a choreographed, pre-planned routine. Each robot handled its own balance and positioning, but it was not improvising. Viewers mostly remembered the wobbly steps, and CGTN itself later used that description when comparing the two years.

The 2026 gala: kung fu, flips and launchers

The 2026 gala was broadcast on 16 February. Al Jazeera reported that about two dozen humanoids from four companies took part: Unitree, MagicLab, Galbot and Noetix. Noetix's Bumi robots appeared in comedy sketches and MagicLab robots in a musical number. Unitree's robots performed martial arts alongside young kung fu performers. The moves listed included table-vaulting parkour, aerial flips, continuous single-leg flips, a wall-assisted backflip and a 7.5-rotation Airflare spin. The robots also handled swords and nunchucks.

A second CGTN report, on the technology behind the routine, gives more detail than most coverage. It describes:

• an upgraded cluster control system that sends synchronised commands to many robots at once with low delay
• a localisation method that combines the robots' own joint and motion sensing with 3D lidar data, updated hundreds of times per second
• pre-trained general motion-control models, fine-tuned so the robots could adjust their positions while performing
• timing matched to the music and the human performers to within about 0.1 seconds, according to a staff member
• customised launchers that propelled the robots two to three metres into the air for some somersaults and side flips

That last point matters for anyone judging what the robots can do on their own. Some of the most striking aerial moves had help from stage equipment. The overall show was a centrally coordinated performance, timed to a soundtrack. It was not a group of robots deciding for themselves what to do next. The underlying balance and motion control is still a real engineering achievement. Landing a flip and recovering on a live stage is hard, whoever triggers the move.

Robot boxing: human operators in the corner

Robot fighting became a public format in 2025. On 25 May 2025, China Media Group held a humanoid robot fighting tournament in Hangzhou using Unitree robots. CGTN's results report names a human operator for each of the four robots. It also sets out the rules:

• three rounds of two minutes each
• one point for an arm strike to the head or torso and three points for a leg strike
• a five-point penalty for a knockdown
• a ten-point penalty and disqualification for a robot that could not get up within eight seconds

Unitree now markets the format as G1-Boxing. That page lists four ways to control the robot: a motion-capture training system, motion-sensing commands, a handheld controller and voice commands. It also highlights the robot's ability to get back up after a fall. A boxing bout of this kind is best understood as operator-driven. A person chooses when to punch or kick, and the robot's own software keeps it upright and turns those commands into stable movement. Unitree's page also states that the G1 is a civilian robot and asks users not to modify it or use it in dangerous ways.

The World Humanoid Robot Games: autonomy becomes a scoring rule

The first World Humanoid Robot Games took place in Beijing in August 2025. Xinhua reported that 280 teams from 16 countries and regions took part. The 100-metre final was won in 21.50 seconds by Tiangong Ultra from the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center. Unitree H1 robots entered by other teams took second and third place.

The scoring is the detail worth noting. Xinhua says the sprint rules weighted times by control method. A remote-controlled robot's time counted in full, while a fully autonomous robot's time was multiplied by 0.8. Tiangong Ultra ran with autonomous navigation and no remote control, which gave it the benefit of that rule. So from the first edition, organisers openly accepted that many robots would be steered by people, and gave autonomy a points advantage.

The second Games in late August 2026 went further. The organisers' published event list sets out 51 events: 30 competition events and 21 scenario-based tasks. Each event has an autonomy rule:

• Fully autonomous only: the sprints, the 400 m, the 1,500 m and the relay, five-a-side and three-a-side football, floor gymnastics, street dance, dancesport, tai chi and boxing routines, tug of war, pitch-pot and table tennis.
• Autonomous or remote control: the 100 m and 400 m obstacle races.
• Scenario tasks (retail, hotel service, packing, sorting library books and similar): a fully autonomous run scores in full and a remote-controlled run scores half.
• No autonomy rule listed: kickboxing, weightlifting and the jumping events.

The results drew headlines. Al Jazeera reported that more than 2,000 robots from 666 teams entered. Tiangong Ultra ran 100 metres in 8.86 seconds in a semi-final, and also set marks at 400 and 1,500 metres. The same report shows the limits as well. The robot had to hit a mat to stop, then collapsed from the impact and caught fire. A record sprint by a machine says more about motors and control than about readiness to share a space with people.

Choreographed, operated or autonomous: a simple test

Across these events, three modes of control show up, often in the same show:

1. Choreographed: the motion sequence is designed in advance and played back to a timeline, while the robot balances and positions itself. The gala dances work this way.
2. Operated: a person makes the decisions in real time through a controller or motion capture, while the robot handles stability. Robot boxing works this way.
3. Autonomous: the robot perceives and decides for itself within a defined task, such as the Games events restricted to autonomous mode.

None of these is fake, but they describe very different capabilities. A robot that can perform a choreographed flip on stage cannot necessarily walk safely through a crowd on its own. A robot that wins an autonomous sprint has not shown that it can serve drinks. Our guide on teleoperated versus autonomous robots goes into what audiences actually see in each case.

What this means for event organisers

• Ask which mode you are buying. In your brief, say whether you want a choreographed routine, an operator-driven act such as sparring or interaction, or autonomous behaviour. Our guide on briefing a robot supplier covers what to include.
• Allow time for choreography. Unitree's 2025 gala routine reportedly took three months of rehearsal. Custom moves for a commercial event need lead time as well. See custom programming and choreography.
• Do not expect gala stunts at your venue. Flips assisted by launchers, professional stage crews and lidar-mapped floors are not standard event features. Check what the supplier's model, such as the Unitree G1, can safely do on your floor.
• Treat combat formats as staged entertainment with a safety zone. Boxing robots are built to fall and strike. Plan barriers, distances and operator positions using our safety planning guide for public events, and check the supplier's own operating limits.
• Read headlines carefully. Records and viral clips are real data points, but they come from controlled settings with specialist teams on hand.

Frequently asked questions

Were the robots at the 2026 Spring Festival Gala acting autonomously?

Not in the sense of improvising. CGTN described a centrally coordinated routine using cluster control, lidar-based positioning and pre-trained motion-control models, timed to music to within about 0.1 seconds. Some aerial moves used customised launchers. Each robot balanced and positioned itself, but the sequence of moves was choreographed in advance.

Who controls a robot in a humanoid boxing match?

In the China Media Group tournament held in Hangzhou in May 2025, each robot had a named human operator. Unitree's G1-Boxing page lists motion capture, motion-sensing commands, a handheld controller and voice commands as control options. The operator decides when to strike, and the robot's software keeps it balanced and helps it get up after a fall.

How does the World Humanoid Robot Games treat remote control?

In 2025, Xinhua reported that sprint times of fully autonomous robots were multiplied by 0.8, which favoured autonomy. For 2026, the organisers' event list made sprints, football, dance and several other events fully autonomous only. Remote-controlled runs in scenario tasks scored half, and no autonomy rule was listed for kickboxing.

Can I book a robot to perform a gala-style kung fu routine at my event?

Choreographed routines are possible, but gala acts relied on months of rehearsal, specialist crews, mapped stages and, for some flips, launch equipment. A commercial booking is usually a simpler routine adapted to your venue and floor, with safety distances. Ask suppliers what they have already performed safely and how long custom choreography takes.

How this article was made: written by the humanoid4rent editorial team with AI assistance; every factual statement was checked against the sources listed below on 2026-10-31. Spotted an error? Write to info@humanoid4rent.com.