In the run-up to the Chinese fresh Year, which starts this year on February 17, the time of corporate banquets, household celebrations and all kinds of performances – the marketplace for robot rental in China is experiencing unprecedented development.
It's not just a substance of popularity of these machines. Rental prices fell dramatically, transforming robots from a luxury gadget into a widely available amusement element.
A fewer months ago, renting an advanced robot cost money. tens of thousands of RMBs per day. Today, thanks to expanding competition and production scaling, the simplest models are available from 200 RMB per day, and humanoid dancing robots – specified as Zhiyuan Lingxi X2 Youth Edition – can be rented for 1499 RMB per day, with free transportation and full method support. That's about
The "Qing Tian Zu" (擎天租) platform was launched on December 22, 2025, as the first open robot rental platform in China, provides services in 50 cities of China, cooperates with over 600 service providers and has over 1,000 devices.
By 2026, it plans to grow its scope to 200 cities, creating an open ecosystem (Robot-as-a-Service).
On the platform are presently available:
- Robot dancers (e.g. Yushu U2 – 5000 RMB/day),
- interactive androids (e.g. Zhiyuan Yuan Zheng A2 – 10,000 RMB/day),
- robots-dogs (e.g. Zhiyuan D1Edu – since 200 RMB/day).
All prices include transport, configuration and emergency service. Products go to customers within 48 hours.
Boom is not limited to entertainment. The drop in costs has besides made robots go to warehouses, factories and tourist attractions, where they service as guides, logistics assistants or receptionists. Companies see them not only as "wow effect", but as a real tool for optimizing work.
e-commerce data confirm this trend: in October–November 2025, the volume of robot sales increased by 757% y/y and over 100 fresh models hit the market. According to Zhiyuan Robotics estimates, the current rental marketplace exceeded RMB 1 billion, and could scope RMB 10 billion by the end of 2026.
At the same time, experts stress that technology is inactive developing: modern consumer robots are poorly coping with very complex tasks and their emotional interactions deficiency naturalness. But these imperfections drive innovation – in China there is simply a race to make an intelligent, flexible and affordable regular robot.
Source:
https://www.stcn.com/article/detail/3559333.html
http://www.xinhuanet.com/tech/2025-12/23/c_1129250123.htm
http://finance.people.com.cn/n1/2026/0110/c1004-40182300.html
http://intl.ce.cn/sjjj/qy/202601/12/t20260112_40182800.shtml
Author: 梁安基 Andrzej Z. Liang, 上海 Shanghai, 中国 China
Email: [email protected]
Editorial: Leszek B.
Email: [email protected]
