Dozens of Chinese-made humanoid robots have demonstrated improvements in speed, balance and autonomous navigation after completing a half-marathon in Beijing on Sunday (19 April), in a showcase of the country’s fast-developing robotics sector.
The event saw machines running alongside around 12,000 human participants on parallel tracks to avoid collisions, with several robots completing the 21-kilometre course faster than elite athletes.
The race marked a sharp contrast with last year’s inaugural edition, when most robots failed to finish and the winning machine recorded a time of 2 hours 40 minutes, which is more than double the human winner’s result.
This year, participation expanded significantly from 20 to more than 100 teams, while nearly half of the robots navigated the course autonomously rather than being remotely controlled.
The winning robot, developed by Chinese smartphone brand Honor, completed the race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, faster than the half-marathon world record set by Ugandan runner Jacob Kiplimo in Lisbon last month.
Teams from Honor, a Huawei spin-off, secured the top three positions, all self-navigated and recording similar world-record-beating times.
Du Xiaodi, an engineer on the winning team, said the robot had been in development for a year.
“Our robot has legs 90 to 95 cm (35 to 37 inches) long to mimic elite human runners and uses liquid cooling technology, similar to that used in smartphones,” he said.
He added that while the sector is still developing, the implications go far beyond sport.
“Running faster may not seem meaningful at first, but it enables technology transfer, for example, into structural reliability and cooling, and eventually industrial applications,” Du said.
Spectators described the event as evidence of China’s progress in robotics and artificial intelligence.
“The humanoid robots' running posture I saw was really quite impressive... considering that AI has only been developing for a short time, I'm already very impressed that it can achieve this level of performance,” said Chu Tianqi, a 23-year-old engineering student at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications.
“The future will definitely be an AI era. If people don't know how to use AI now, especially if some are still resistant to it, they will definitely become obsolete,” he added.
Eleven-year-old student Guo Yukun said the race inspired him to pursue robotics.
“I take regular classes in robotics theory and programming at my school, and I’m part of the team for the International Olympiad in Informatics,” he said.
Experts say that while humanoid robotics is advancing quickly, commercial deployment remains limited.
Many systems still struggle with complex real-world tasks requiring fine motor control, perception, and adaptability beyond structured environments.
However, China is investing heavily in the sector through subsidies, infrastructure support and national industrial policy aimed at positioning the country as a global leader in humanoid robotics.
The technology has already featured in high-profile cultural showcases, including a recent appearance on China’s CCTV Spring Festival Gala, where humanoid robots performed choreographed martial arts sequences alongside human performers.
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