Dancing robots featuring cutting-edge techs wow audience at Spring Festival Gala

Cutting-edge technologies that include artificial intelligence (AI) have shored up a standout synchronized dancing performance offered by humans and humanoid robots together on the stage of the grand Spring Festival Gala on the eve of the Chinese New Year in Beijing.

A team of robot dancers took to the stage alongside their human counterparts for a fun performance featuring the Chinese folk dance Yangge during the 2025 Spring Festival Gala on Tuesday evening, leaving the audience utterly amazed.

The robots also impressively performed the "handkerchief spin" - a signature move in Yangge which typically requires great skill and practice.

Choreographed by Zhang Peng and Li Mengyu - who also directed the gala at last year's Kashgar sub-venue - the performance brought together dancers from diverse ethnic groups, including Kazakh, Hui, Tujia and Buyi, to present a unique blend of tradition and innovation.

The AI software captures every movement of the dancers, transforming them into instructions fine-tuned by the engineers.

Thanks to the large models used in training, the robots' learning efficiency was vastly improved.

It was already the second time for a robot team to make appearance on the Spring Festival Gala stage.

From the four-legged robotic ox on the stage of the Spring Festival Gala in 2021 to this year's bipedal humanoid robots, technological advances have driven the creative possibilities.

"Four legs help maintain stability on the ground easily. But when it comes to only two legs, the robot can't maintain stability with just one foot on the ground. The key is to ensure the robot's fluency and stability throughout the entire dance movement," said Zhang Yangguang, an engineer at Unitree Robotics which produces the robots.

Since debuting its first bipedal humanoid robots in 2023, the team has tackled significant technical challenges, such as robots' ability to move autonomously across complex terrain.

For the Yangge dance this year, the robot team programmed more than 130 dance moves, testing the robots' reliability as each of the 19 joints in the humanoid robots was required to perform large and precise movements.

From a mere concept to reality, these humanoid robots have bridged the gap between technology and art on the grand stage of the Spring Festival Gala.

"Regarding artistic creation, I think what is essential is to keep art in pace with the times. We need to continuously develop the excellent connotations of our traditional culture. In the past, we incorporated sound and light technology and multimedia in dance at theaters, and now we are merging it with cutting-edge technologies and robots. It's an entirely new challenge," said Zhang Peng, vice dean of the Dance School at Xinjiang Arts University.

The Spring Festival Gala is a Chinese New Year special produced by China Media Group (CMG). It is broadcast annually on the eve of the Chinese New Year on its flagship CCTV-1 and internationally through the China Global Television Network. The gala has the largest audience of any entertainment show in the world, and is recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world's most watched television program.

Dancing robots featuring cutting-edge techs wow audience at Spring Festival Gala

Dancing robots featuring cutting-edge techs wow audience at Spring Festival Gala

Dancing robots featuring cutting-edge techs wow audience at Spring Festival Gala

Dancing robots featuring cutting-edge techs wow audience at Spring Festival Gala

Duty-free sales in China's Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) reached 161 million yuan (about 22.8 million U.S. dollars) on Thursday, the first day of island-wide special customs operations, according to official statistics released Friday by Haikou Customs.

Nearly 24,800 shoppers purchased about 118,000 items on the day, up 53 percent and 25 percent year on year, respectively, the data showed.

At the Haikou International Duty-Free Shopping Complex, significant discounts drew large numbers of customers.

"We were curious about the changes after the island-wide special customs operations were implemented, so we came to have a look," said a customer.

"Foot traffic is up at least three to four times compared with usual levels, and new products are selling very well," said Xu Xueli, a salesperson at the Haikou CDF Mall.

The Haikou Global Premium Duty Free Plaza was also bustling with customers engaging in interactive games and promotional activities.

"The performances are fantastic, and the discounts are very generous. I came after the island-wide special customs operations began to buy some duty-free items. I've had my eyes on, and I'm really happy," said another customer.

"By integrating cultural experiences and duty-free shopping, we aim to better incorporate Dongpo culture into the consumer experience," said Chen Haidan, sales manager in the operations management department of the Haikou Global Duty-Free Plaza.

Su Dongpo was a prominent poet and cultural figure of China's Song Dynasty (960–1279), celebrated for his literary legacy and culinary skills.

The island-wide special customs operations took effect Thursday in the Hainan Free Trade Port, the world's largest free trade port by area, allowing freer entry of overseas goods, expanded zero-tariff coverage and more business-friendly measures.

Hainan records 161 mln yuan in duty-free sales on first day of special customs operations