Machines rowed alongside humans in an ancient activity that the Chinese practice during the holiday from June 19th to 21st
For the first time in more than 2,000 years, the “dragon boat race” tradition in China featured the participation of humanoid robots. In Sichuan province, machines participated in a series of cultural activities related to the Dragon Boat Festival, a national holiday that the Chinese celebrate from Friday (June 19, 2026) to Sunday (June 21).
The boat race is the main attraction of the event, also called the Duanwu Festival. The holiday celebrates the life of Qu Yuan, a loyal minister and poet in ancient China (2nd and 3rd century BC), who drowned in protest against government corruption. Legend has it that locals rushed in their boats to save him or at least recover his body and threw rice cakes into the river to prevent the fish from devouring him.
That’s why the tradition on the day is to hold boat races and prepare zongzi, rice dumplings wrapped in leaves. For more than 2 millennia these activities were carried out by humans, but in 2026 robots also took part. In addition to racing, the machines also proved capable of assembling zongzi and painting dragon heads.
Watch (1min57s):
The introduction of robots in cultural activities is a recommendation from the Chinese government. In addition to testing them in activities, which could lead to future improvements, China increasingly wants to accustom citizens to coexistence with robots so as not to cause surprises when they are operating in commerce or other activities. China plans to have at least 10,000 humanoid robots in commercial use in the country by the end of this year.
