New Year on the Frontlines: China's Gen Z who train robots

Editor's Note:

This year marks the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30). A new year begins with new resolve and new momentum. The call to "fight for our dreams and our happiness, and turn our great vision into beautiful realities" continues to inspire actions across China.

In the column "New Year on the Frontlines," reporters from the People's Daily traveled to the grassroots to witness the vitality of a vast nation, see its mountains and rivers in motion and its fields in abundance, and listen to the stories of people finding fulfillment in both life and work.

Through these stories, the column seeks to present a vivid portrait of Chinese modernization.

Inside the Guangxi Embodied Intelligence Data Collection and Testing Center at the Liuzhou Robot Industrial Park in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, blue indicator lights flashed beneath the forehead of a 1.76-meter-tall industrial humanoid robot, their glow mingling with the red radiance of lanterns reflected on the glass curtain wall.

25-year-old Wu Dongbo stood in front of the robot, meticulously manipulating a control stick. "Pull down the F-key, press D to start, then return F to reset." As soon as his colleague Tang Junyuan finished speaking, Wu began making adjustments. The robot slowly raised its head, its right arm gradually lifted into the air before suddenly pausing, its joints trembling slightly ... "Reinforcement learning mode still needs fine-tuning," he explained to the People's Daily reporter without interrupting his work.

Wu Dongbo uses a controller to practice screwdriving with an industrial humanoid robot at the Liuzhou Robot Industrial Park in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on January 30, 2026. Photo: Courtesy of Li Hanchi

Wu is a robot trainer at the center, and his job is to train these "iron kids," as they're fondly called. "It's essentially about making the robots learn human force and angles, then converting that into parameter adjustments," Wu said.

To improve his debugging skills, Wu practiced repeatedly until he could issue each command accurately. "For an industrial robot to learn a simple action, it needs at least 300 repetitions." As he spoke, the robot in front of him once again raised its arm, flexed, and reached out, steadily gripping a component on the table. A faint smile touched Wu's lips as he said, "Look, it succeeded this time!"

Wu Dongbo (left) and his new colleague discuss the key points of practicing operational movements for industrial humanoid robots at the Liuzhou Robot Industrial Park in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on February 11, 2026. Photo: Courtesy of Li Hanchi

Elsewhere in the workshop, 23-year-old Qin Meilian was debugging a robot. "These robots can enter fire scenes and confined spaces," she told the People's Daily, outlining their applications: They can carry heavy loads, withstand heat, and are impervious to toxic gases. "Our goal is to get these robots onto worksites as soon as possible. They will be our reliable partners."

At the sorting and distribution station, robots practiced accurately sorting components; at the Guangxi Automobile Group's loading/unloading station, they learned to coordinate with machine tools; and in the pre-packaging area for Luosifen (snail rice noodles), they practiced the precise grasping and dispensing of ingredients ... "These real-world training scenarios are our most substantial 'assets' for training robots!" Wu said.

As dusk fell, Wu and his colleagues gathered around their workstations, systematically inputting the day's parameter adjustments, action completion status, problems, and solutions into the intelligent management system. Liu Kun, the center's director, walked over, clapped his hands, and announced in a clear, loud voice: "Next, we will initiate synchronous training for 120 robots, collecting 10,000 training data entries daily." The young team members nodded in agreement; their enthusiasm was palpable.