Humanoid robots have moved from lab demos to running tracks and now into tea fields in China as teams participating in the 2026 World Humanoid Robot Games began a real-world robotics challenge in Fujian Province’s tea-growing region.

The first leg of the “Energy Transfer” relay for the 2026 World Humanoid Robot Games officially started on May 10 in Fuding, Fujian, one of China’s most important white tea- producing areas. Instead of a controlled test environment, robot teams were deployed directly in tea plantations and processing facilities, where they worked alongside local tea masters throughout the white tea production cycle.

The challenge required humanoid robots to identify and pluck tea leaves, carry loads across uneven mountain terrain, spread leaves for sun-drying, and participate in subsequent processing stages, including roasting and pressing tea cakes. According to CGTN, the exercise was designed as a real-world field test to gather data for general-purpose artificial intelligence and embodied AI systems.

The environment presented challenges rarely seen in usual robotics testing environments. Steep hillsides and rough terrain tested balance and mobility, differences in leaf shapes and maturity levels challenged visual recognition systems, while delicate harvesting tasks pushed the dexterity limits of robotic hands.

From robot competitions to real-world testing

The tea challenge is one of the real-world activities organized as part of the 2026 World Humanoid Robot Games. The event follows the inaugural edition held in 2 025 and formspart of China’s broader effort to evaluate humanoid robots beyond demonstration environments. The first Games attracted 280 teams and more than 500 humanoid robots from 16 countries.

Organizers announced that the second edition will include 32 events split into two major categories. Competitive events and scenario-based contests. The competitive section contains 26 events across nine disciplines, including athletics, football, gymnastics, weightlifting, martial arts, dance competitions, tug-of-war, and pitch-pot, a traditional Chinese precision game.

The scenario category focuses less on sports performance and more on practical
deployment. It includes six real-world settings covering homes, hotels, factories, emergency response, hospitals, and retail environments. Organizers also stated that these challenges are increasingly shifting from simulated venues to real operational settings to push robots toward practical applications.

Why tea fields matter for humanoid robotics

Many robots are still primarily demonstrated in controlled spaces such as laboratories, exhibition halls, warehouses, or carefully structured industrial environments where variables remain limited.

Tea plantations present a very different problem. Terrain is irregular, objects vary naturally, lighting changes continuously, and tasks require both mobility and fine manipulation. Unlike factory-produced products, tea leaves differ in size, position, and ripeness.

Tea plantations present a very different problem. Terrain is irregular, objects vary naturally, lighting changes continuously, and tasks require both mobility and fine manipulation. Unlike factory-produced products, tea leaves differ in size, position, and ripeness.

The tea challenge also appears intended to accelerate data collection and iterative training while testing whether humanoid robots can function in environments closer to everyday human work. Rather than showing off speed or isolated technical capability, the exercise focuses on adaptability. An area widely viewed as one of the major hurdles for humanoid robots moving into real-world use.