Drunken boxing and backflips: China put on a robot kung fu display that shows how fast its robotics industry is growing

"At the annual Spring Festival Gala, the Lunar New Year show in China, humanoid robots from Chinese startup Unitree Robotics flipped, lunged, and swung swords and nunchucks just feet from child performers in a tightly choreographed kung fu routine."

"In one sequence inspired by 'drunken boxing,' a traditional Chinese martial arts style, the robots staggered, fell backward, then rose again - showcasing advances in control and coordination."

"On RedNote, a user who goes by Ma Xiao said in a video posted on Wednesday that during last year's performance, the robots were only "doing very simple things." "Now, they're doing kung fu, they're doing flips, they're doing synchronized dancing," he said. "Everybody's shocked." "Now the rest of the world knows what China's speed is," he added."

"Another RedNote user, DKKD, posted a video of friends reacting to the performance on Tuesday, captioning it: "Three Americans were scared by the Spring Festival robot." "They were all shocked by the robot's level of evolution (including me)," the user wrote."

Humanoid robots from Unitree Robotics executed a tightly choreographed kung fu routine at China's Spring Festival Gala, performing flips, lunges, and weapon-handling moves near child performers. A sequence inspired by 'drunken boxing' showed robots staggering, falling backward, and rising again, illustrating improved control and coordination. Clips of the performance prompted comparisons to last year's simpler robot dance, signaling noticeable technical progress. The gala also featured other Chinese robotics firms including MagicLab, Galbot, and Noetix in separate segments. Social media reactions expressed shock and awe, with users noting rapid evolution and global visibility of Chinese robotics speed.

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