Futuristic robots in scenic areas refresh China's tourist experience

Borneo Post

11-05-2025

This undated handout photo shows a tourist climbing the Taishan Mountain with the assistance of an exoskeleton robot developed by Kenqing Technology, a Shenzhen-based robotics company, in Tai'an, east China's Shandong Province during the Spring Festival in 2025. (Kenqing Technology/Handout via Xinhua)
BEIJING (May 12): As China's tourism industry further embraces technology, robot-assisted hikes and AI-guided sightseeing tours are among a number of futuristic travel experiences that have become increasingly common across the country.
Over the recent May Day holiday — one of China's busiest travel periods each year — many tourist attractions were empowered by high-tech to offer visitors unique and immersive experiences, ranging from virtual reality equipment providing digitized tours to drones creating spectacular patterns in the sky or monitoring crowd density in scenic spots.
In the Shichuan Ancient Pear Orchard — a pear blossom tourist attraction in the inland county of Gaolan, northwest China's Gansu Province — robots developed by Unitree Robotics were seen leading tourists around the orchard's iconic sights, displaying dynamic obstacle avoidance and terrain climbing skills.
The technology company based in east China's Hangzhou rose to fame after its humanoid robots staged an arresting performance on China's 2025 'Spring Festival Gala' television show.
Also in Gaolan, an agriculture museum saw robots interact with traditional farming tools, presenting a dialogue between ancient and modern times for visitors, and showcasing how China's ancient farming civilization has evolved to embrace modern technology.
'It was a pleasant surprise! I didn't expect to make friends with high-tech in the ancient pear orchard,' said a visitor surnamed Zhang, who experienced the cutting-edge technology firsthand by shaking hands with a robot.
'Its movements were very flexible, and it seemed to be listening intently to me. It was just like communicating with a real person,' he said.
In line with the 'AI plus consumption' initiative outlined in the latest plan released by China's State Council to stimulate consumption, AI applications are now evident in many online and in-person scenarios.
The tourism industry, which is generally associated with scenic views and cultural heritage, is undergoing a significant transformation with the integration of robotics and advanced technologies.
One notable example of this integration is the recent use of exoskeleton robots, which have become a hit among mountain climbers in particular. The devices were met with overwhelming demand during the holiday at Mount Tai, a famed scenic area in east China's Shandong Province.
'Our exoskeleton robots were all rented every day, with some tourists waiting for up to two hours,' said Li Gang, a manager of the Taishan Cultural Tourism Group, which organizes trips to Mount Tai.
The wearable, lightweight smart devices can reduce human exertion by sensing user intentions and dynamically outputting mechanical force to core body parts. They have an instant pull force capacity of 200 kilograms and an eight-hour endurance.
As Mount Tai's picturesque scenery and cultural heritage unfold during the steepest sections of its hiking trails, the device can effectively ease the pains of intense exercise, cutting what should be a three-hour hike by half.
Priced at 80 yuan (about 11 U.S. dollars) for three hours, the robots were fully booked in advance during the holiday, Li added. The devices can also monitor the physical condition of their wearers, and have emergency call and scenic-area guidance functions, among others.
Similar robots have also debuted at other mountainous tourist attractions across multiple provincial-level regions, including Hebei, Ningxia, Anhui, Shaanxi and Jiangxi.
During the five-day holiday, Chinese travelers made an estimated 314 million domestic trips. Among that number were millions who were delighted by novel AI-empowered experiences or human-machine interactions.
In the economic powerhouse of Guangdong Province alone, 42 activities organized by tech firms or telecom operators and showcasing novel AI application scenarios were attended more than 2.1 million times.
And the tourism industry's integration of robotics is not limited to entertainment and assistance; robots are also being utilized for safety and security purposes.
In the Beijing (Tongzhou) Grand Canal Cultural Tourism Scenic Area, a four-wheeled robot named Xiaoyu is currently being tested for patrol and security inspections.
Xiaoyu is able to provide timely safety alerts for tourists, and can detect smoke points and locate their source fire via its built-in thermal imaging and temperature-sensitive camera. It can also assess the health of trees and detect signs of pests or diseases. When tourists encounter an abnormal situation, they can press the SOS button on the robot's shoulder to contact the site's staff.
From enhancing visitor experiences to improving safety and efficiency, these innovations are reshaping the way Chinese people travel and experience the world. The May Day holiday provided a glimpse into an exciting future in which the boundaries between humans and technology are blurred, and in which new possibilities for tourism are unlocked.
A recent China News Service article quoted Guo Qiang, a sales manager at a humanoid robotics company in central China's Hunan Province, as saying that the company has received more than 100 orders from tourist attractions, which aim to task the robots to perform Tai Chi, serve tea or provide hiking assistance.
'Robots are walking into China's scenic areas on a large scale and in an explosive manner, serving as a catalyst for an upgrade of cultural tourism services,' Guo said. – Xinhua China high tech robotics tourism