The "Robot Super Bowl": Humanoids Dominate China’s 2026 Spring Festival Gala

A wide shot of the 2026 Spring Festival Gala stage with a futuristic blue background featuring circuit-board patterns. In the foreground, a row of humanoid robots wearing orange and red vests perform a synchronized low martial arts lunge. On tiered blue platforms in the background, human performers in traditional martial arts uniforms (blue and white, and yellow and red) strike similar poses. The "CGTN LIVE" and "2026 Spring Festival Gala" logos are visible in the corners. — Technical agility on display: Over a dozen Unitree Robotics humanoids performing a synchronized martial arts routine during the 2026 Spring Festival Gala. The demonstration included ambitious sequences imitating "drunken boxing" to highlight innovations in multi-robot coordination and the platforms' ability to recover from falls.

China’s most-watched television event, the annual CCTV Spring Festival Gala, has once again served as a high-stakes arena for the nation's technological ambitions. On Monday, the 2026 broadcast—viewed by hundreds of millions—showcased a fleet of humanoid robots from Unitree Robotics, Galbot, Noetix, and MagicLab, signaling a decisive push by Beijing to move these machines into the public consciousness.

While previous years featured robots primarily as background props, the 2026 gala integrated them into the core of the entertainment, with humanoids performing sophisticated martial arts, stand-up comedy, and synchronized dance routines.

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Unitree Spring Festival Gala Robots —a Full Release of Additional Details 🥳 Dozens of G1 robots achieved the world’s first fully autonomous humanoid robot cluster Kung Fu performance (with quick movement), pushing motion limits and setting multiple world firsts! H2 made striking

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Unitree Martial Arts

The evening’s technical standout was a martial arts demonstration featuring more than a dozen Unitree Robotics humanoids. The robots performed complex fight sequences alongside human children, wielding swords, poles, and nunchucks with high precision.

For Unitree, this appearance follows a year of intense competition to claim the title of global shipment leader, a position it “has defended” against Shanghai-based rival AgiBot.

From Industrial Tools to Family Companions

Noetix Robotics featured its "Bumi" humanoids in a comedy sketch involving a grandmother and grandson, emphasizing the robot's role as a family companion. Priced at under $1,400 (9,998 yuan), the Bumi represents a growing segment of entry-level humanoids designed for education and home use.

A scene from a comedy sketch during the 2026 Spring Festival Gala. On a stage designed to look like a living room, an older woman in a red patterned sweater and a younger man in a white hoodie stand together. A small silver humanoid robot wearing a red and white festive coat stands between them. In the background, two larger humanoid robots with blue and orange torsos are visible. The CGTN and 2026 Spring Festival Gala logos appear in the corners. — Domestic debuts: Noetix’s Bumi humanoid robots appearing alongside human actors in a comedy sketch featuring a grandmother and grandson during the 2026 Spring Festival Gala. The performance highlighted the growing focus on family-oriented applications and the potential for humanoids to serve as household companions.

Similarly, MagicLab robots joined human performers for a musical number titled "We Are Made in China," showcasing the fluid, expressive motion that has become a requirement for the sector's "cultural framing".

The Cost of the Spotlight

The visibility of the CCTV stage comes with a massive price tag. Reports leading up to the event suggested a fierce bidding war, with Unitree allegedly offering as much as $13.7 million (100 million yuan) to secure its sponsorship slot.

This aggressive marketing spend has fueled fears of a humanoid robotics bubble. While the gala provides unparalleled exposure, industry observers remain skeptical about whether these "showbiz" capabilities will translate into the industrial utility needed to justify current valuations.

Two Broadcasts: Global vs. Domestic Stages

While the domestic CCTV Gala served as a high-stakes arena for official partners like Unitree and Galbot, the international CGTN Super Night broadcast presented a broader, curated view of China’s robotics landscape for a global audience.

This international "reimagining" of the festivities featured several companies that did not appear on the domestic main stage. Most notably, CGTN featured AgiBot and showcased the "Adam" humanoid from PND Botics within its tech-focused international segments.

AgiBot’s Strategic Independence

AgiBot’s appearance in the international broadcast is particularly notable given the company’s decision to bypass the domestic gala. Earlier this month, the Shanghai-based firm officially announced it would not participate in the 2026 CCTV Spring Festival Gala. Instead, AgiBot doubled down on its own independent event, AGIBOT NIGHT 2026, which aired on February 8.