During the 2026 National Day holiday, robot manufacturers accelerated their push into the cultural tourism market. Interactive games at theme parks, brand events in shopping malls, and special performances in theaters have opened up new commercialization space for robots. Manufacturers have begun delivering equipment, content production, and on-site operations as a bundled package, attempting to convert visitors' novelty toward robots into a business that cultural tourism enterprises are willing to pay for on an ongoing basis.

At White Magnolia Plaza in Shanghai's North Bund, two robots had just finished a boxing performance and immediately made finger-heart gestures toward the audience. Children nearby raised their hands in response, and parents lifted their phones to capture the moment. At night, the robots also went up to the 320-meter-high White Magnolia Observation Deck to perform dances and martial arts. These programs were arranged by robot rental service platform Qing Tian Zu in cooperation with Golden Light Group, with activities running from October 1 to 7.

In brand stores within the same mall, robots also participated in greeting guests, taking photos, and introducing merchandise. After watching a performance, visitors browsing the stores might even encounter a robot serving as a "temporary store manager." Meanwhile, robot manufacturer AgiBot also partnered with Chimelong Group to deploy more than 300 robots at Chimelong Spaceship Park in Hengqin, Zhuhai, providing game interactions, educational presentations, and performance programs for visitors during the holiday.

According to reporters, Chimelong introduced the robots through a procurement arrangement and signed a ten-year strategic cooperation agreement with AgiBot. After securing the equipment order, the manufacturer will also work with the park to jointly develop entertainment content. In this way, cultural tourism enterprises can either purchase robot performance services for holidays or develop day-to-day operating projects centered around robots.

Why customers are paying

The primary reason cultural tourism enterprises bring in robots is to add more content that visitors can participate in. At Chimelong Spaceship Park, the park arranged different activities across more than 100 interactive experience points. Visitors can play rock-paper-scissors with robots, play three-in-a-row, or play table tennis, and they can also watch robots write calligraphy with brush and ink. In addition, robots entered marine life exhibition areas to handle educational presentations.

Wang Chuang, partner and senior vice president of AgiBot and president of its general business unit, said visitor preferences differ from what the R&D team envisioned: "What the R&D team considers technically difficult is not necessarily what visitors like." He said projects that children can participate in and that families can enjoy together are more likely to attract visitors. When arranging related services, the park can also participate in designing the robots' roles. Reporters learned that Chimelong can customize a robot's voice, facial expressions, clothing, and movements so that it fits the theme of different exhibition areas.

Brand stores in shopping malls, meanwhile, hope to use robots to attract foot traffic. At the BURTON store, a ski brand at White Magnolia Plaza, a robot wore the brand's gear, took photos with customers, and introduced new products and opening events. After ski-related knowledge was preloaded, it could also answer basic questions such as "How should a first-time skier choose equipment?", handling product inquiries after photo-taking. Fragrance brand AD VITAM arranged for a robot to introduce the brand and essential oil products. Customers could first interact with the robot and then smell scents and select products. Brands use robots to draw passing customers to stop and enter stores, trying to turn people's interest in new technology into a willingness to learn about products.

A person in charge at Qing Tian Zu said the company hopes robots will integrate into the existing service processes of malls and brands. In addition to providing equipment, the team must arrange content and on-site services according to different tasks such as greeting, in-store interaction, and performances. Besides using robots to attract foot traffic, some operators are also trying to earn revenue directly through robot performances. For example, the Guangdong Science Center arranged a 40-minute humanoid robot showcase in its giant-screen theater. Multiple robots dancing in unison and human-robot interactions formed the entire program, and audiences needed to buy tickets to watch. The venue also offered free experience activities in the lobby and atrium, allowing visitors to interact with robots up close.

Xiong Yan, partner and co-president of AgiBot and president of its central R&D department, believes that using robots' existing functions to choreograph new programs can cost less than choreographing live-action programs.

After paying the bill

According to reporters, AgiBot and Chimelong have established an embodied intelligence cultural tourism joint research institute and plan to set up a joint co-creation team around park scenarios to carry out content creation and on-site solution validation within the park. In addition, the two sides use a park operations management platform to aggregate robot operating hours, interaction, and task data to evaluate service effectiveness and adjust equipment placement and content.

After cultural tourism enterprises purchase robot equipment, they need to gradually recover their investment through daily operations. On this point, Wang Chuang believes that improving robots' autonomous operating capabilities and extending equipment service life can help reduce the comprehensive usage costs for cultural tourism customers. However, whether cooperation projects can continue to expand still depends on comparing the added costs of robots with the benefits they create. For operators, beyond equipment procurement there are also daily expenses for personnel, networks, and spare parts, and calling large-model services on remote servers also generates fees.

For customers whose demand is concentrated during holidays, robot service providers can also supply equipment and personnel on a per-event basis. For example, when Qing Tian Zu arranges programs in different cities, it can reuse movements and choreography already developed and then adjust content according to local culture. Events in Guangzhou can have robots host in Cantonese, while other cities can change costumes, music, and formations. Existing programs can be used across cities, while customers can receive performances adapted to local culture.

During interviews, reporters noted that the current robot cultural tourism boom is driven both by cultural tourism operators' demand for new content and by robot manufacturers actively seeking application scenarios. The two sides are jointly cultivating a new market. However, what role robots will ultimately play in these fields and what kind of business model can eventually take shape still leave considerable room for exploration.