What happens when humanoid robots get in on ancient traditions? During this Dragon Boat Festival in southwest China, robots stepped out of the lab to race down the river, wrap zongzi, pound sticky rice cakes, and even try their hand at shadow puppetry alongside humans.

It's all part of the run-up to the 2026 World Humanoid Robot Games, and a chance for engineers to see how well robots handle real-world tasks in complex environments.