Photo: Weibo

 
A Yangge folk dance performed by robots during the Spring Festival Gala of the Year of the Snake on Tuesday night has vowed users of some overseas social media,mk as the performance, using an innovative approach, blended cultural heritage with cutting-edge technology. 

In the performance directed by renowned Chinese director Zhang Yimou, 16 robots produced by Chinese robotics company Unitree, dressing in northeastern Chinese style floral padded jackets, performed together with dancers from China's Xinjiang Art Institute. The humanoid robots can not only smoothly twist their waists and mimic human leg-kicking movements, but also spin handkerchiefs, displaying extremely dexterous actions.

The innovative performance has impressed many netizens on overseas social media platforms including Reddit and X.

"Honestly the full thing is actually quite impressive," one netizen said on Reddit. "Watched the full dance and the way the robot spins those handkerchiefs is really impressive," another one posted. "I actually think it's kind of cool. The more you integrate technology into life, the easier it is to get people to embrace it," another one said.

"Just in China's Spring Festival Gala, there's a humanoid robot dance show. They were dancing so well! The handkerchief hand could spin, thrown out & returned to its position accurately! AI and robotics are in the next level now. Fasten your seat belt and don't get behind!" an X user said.

"The West is looking at how China keeps moving showcasing the rapid development of various fields, previously DeepSeek, now they are seeing how an event that exposes the togetherness between robots and humans," another X user said. 

"While Elon Musk's Optimus robot walks like an elderly person following a hip surgery, China's humanoid robots danced like spring chickens at China's Spring Festival Gala," another netizen posted on X. 

Those who put on the performance on the stage of the Spring Festival Gala were Unitree H1, a humanoid robot product of Unitree. The company told the Global Times on Tuesday night that the robots use AI-driven full-body motion control technology, capable of achieving a maximum joint torque of 360 N・m. Coupled with 360° panoramic depth perception technology, they can precisely grasp every movement in surroundings. Moreover, through advanced AI algorithms, they can perfectly "understand" music, adjusting movements in real-time according to the music. 

The high-precision 3D laser SLAM positioning and navigation technology also enable the robots to accurately find location even in complex stage environments, the company noted.

Unitree said they named this model of robots "Fuxi," a homophone for a mythical ancestor of the Chinese nation, symbolizing the beautiful blessings brought by technology.