Two robots lead a bench dragon procession in Yafan town, Jinhua. [Photo/Tide News]

A colossal bench dragon meandered through Yafan town in Wucheng district, Jinhua, Zhejiang province, on the evening of Feb 10, infusing the air with joy to welcome Lantern Festival.

Locals and tourists flocked to witness the "cyber dragon lantern feast" — combining traditional customs and modern technology.

The resounding beats of drums and gongs announced the beginning of the dragon lantern procession. Two striking robots led the way, followed by villagers carrying bench dragons through the streets. Crowds cheered and reveled in the dragon dance, creating a vibrant atmosphere filled with laughter and merriment.

The robots featured in the parade were made by local enterprise Puyuan (Zhejiang) Technology Co, which focuses on public safety, emergency responses, and combat training, offering technical services and sales of intelligent robots.

Having collaborated with Wucheng's public security departments previously, the company's patrol robots displayed their prowess at locations like Jinhua Railway Station.

Yuan Tangjie, the company's executive director, said, "The dance performed by a group of robots at the Spring Festival Gala attracted a lot of attention, so we proposed adding our robots to the dragon lantern parade to integrate a technological touch into the festive atmosphere."

Yuan added that they also made new attempts at motion control and hand controls and designed interactive actions such as passing the dragon lantern for the robots.

After the activity, the robots will continue to cooperate with the police in public security.

Editor: Zhong Xinyi