Chinese Robots Partake In First Humanoid Half-Marathon Race

The robotics industry is booming, with Chinese robots at the forefront of this growth as various regional firms continue developing new additions to the industry. On 19 April 2025, these AI-powered metal buddies from China competed with humans in a half-marathon race, showing off their abilities but falling behind the human racers.

Chinese Robots Show Off Their Abilities For A Half-Marathon Race

To show off its advanced robotics technology to the rest of the world, China organized a race between humans and robots. This race took place on 19 April 2025 in the southeastern Yizhuang district of Beijing, with more than 20 robots participating.

These robots didn’t all come from the same robotics firm, hence creating diversity in not only appearances but also abilities. Over 12,000 human contestants participated in this race event, with the humans and the robots racing the same distance but in different lanes.

During the course of the race, both the human and the robot parties were allowed to stop for water or battery breaks. The winner of the half-marathon race was a human racer who completed the course in one hour and 2 minutes.

On the side of the robots that fell behind the humans, the first robot to complete the race is from the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre, the Tiangong Ultra. This robot completed the half-marathon in two hours and 40 minutes, an hour and 38 minutes behind the winner of the race for humans.

Despite falling behind the human racers in the race, the Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre was impressed by the performance of their robot. They express confidence that their robot, the Tiangong Ultra, is ahead of the robotics competition from the West when it comes to the area of athletic performance.