China shows off nunchuck-wielding humanoid robots for Lunar New Year

WorldTechnology
18 Feb 2026 • 7:57 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

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China has unveiled its nunchuck-wielding humanoid robots as part of its Lunar New Year celebrations.

On Monday (16 February), the robots took centre stage as they showed off their martial arts skills during the annual China Media Group’s Spring Festival Gala - the country’s biggest TV event of the year.

Performing in front of amazed children, two dozen bots from Unitree backflipped, vaulted over obstacles and wielded swords, amongst an array of stunts.

The performance has been noted as a significant step up in comparison to last year’s event, which saw robots awkwardly moving around the stage whilst waving red handkerchiefs.

“You can’t imagine how fast Chinese humanoid robots are evolving,” the Chinese embassy in the US wrote on Facebook.

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