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At exactly 10 a.m., two humanoid robots standing 1.3 meters tall animatedly began to move in a storefront located in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province in central China. They danced in perfect harmony, twisting and turning to a rhythmic tune. Their synchronized dance marked the grand opening of the country’s first official 7S humanoid robot store, now operating daily.
Similar to automotive 4S (sales, service, spare parts, and surveys) shops, this innovative concept serves as a comprehensive hub—but instead of focusing on vehicles, it centers around humanoid robots. The 7S model expands on the traditional 4S framework by incorporating solutions, showcases, and educational functions, effectively covering the entire industry chain from component manufacturing and complete robots to scenario-specific applications.
Since its debut in November 2025, this Wuhan location, managed by the Hubei Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, has become a notable attraction within a shopping mall in the Wuhan East Lake High-Tech Development Zone, also recognized as China’s Optics Valley, a thriving tech hub.
The Chinese humanoid robot industry experienced substantial growth throughout 2025, supported by long-term strategic plans at both national and regional levels that aim to position the sector as a key economic driver. The 7S store stands as a pioneering effort to explore viable commercial models and gauge market acceptance for this transformative technology.
“Within nearly two months, we’ve had around 18,000 visitors, making it a popular tech destination for both locals and tourists,” said the store manager. Revenue from the store has reached close to 615,000 yuan (approximately $88,600). Humanoid robots are especially popular for rentals, having participated in more than ten commercial events, while interactive experiences such as robot dogs and robot soccer games have become major draws, especially among young visitors.
Inside the bustling store, visitors can see a variety of robots exhibiting their capabilities: some are playing soccer, others assist customers in retail settings, while some perform musical pieces. The store features 17 different robot models, with prices ranging from 149 yuan to as high as 700,000 yuan. These robots are applicable in over ten scenarios, including manufacturing, cultural tourism guidance, elder care, and specialized operations.
The Chinese government has ramped up efforts to foster emerging industries like embodied artificial intelligence, as reflected in the country’s upcoming five-year plans (2026-2030). The objectives include cultivating new economic growth engines through technological innovation and market exploration.
This Wuhan store is part of a nationwide wave of robot-themed retail experiments aimed at promoting real-life applications of humanoid robots—an essential phase for industry development. A think tank predicts that by 2045, over 100 million humanoid robots could be deployed across various sectors within China, creating a market worth around 10 trillion yuan.
Last July, the world’s first robot 6S store opened in Shenzhen, a major tech hub in southern China. That was followed a month later by the debut of Beijing’s Robot Mall, a 4,000-square-meter showroom that showcased more than 50 products spanning medical, industrial, and companion robotics during a robot consumer festival.
What sets the Wuhan store apart is its educational feature, focusing on addressing the “last mile” of skill development. Instead of merely serving as a sales point, it functions as a hands-on experience center, offering interactive engagement and training programs. Staff members emphasize that the store provides robotics operator training, maintenance certification, and introductory courses for teenagers.
Additionally, corporate engineers can gain practical skills in operating and maintaining humanoid robots on-site, while middle school students can learn programming and logical reasoning through interactive activities. “We’ve conducted 20 sessions—eight operator training, 12 youth courses, and two teacher training events—drawing over 1,000 participants,” reported the manager.
About 65% of these trainees are young students building foundational skills, while 35% consist of professional engineers and teachers seeking operational expertise. Over 50 professionals have also acquired basic robotic operation skills through these programs.
A notable feature near the store entrance is Yuan You, meaning “Far Traveler” in English, a wheeled-legged robot standing 158 cm tall and weighing 72 kilograms. “It can walk at 1.5 meters per second,” said the manager. “It’s a Hubei native, and it has been working for nine months at a hospital in Xianning, providing guidance, explanations, and even moxibustion therapy services.”
Yuan Chao, CEO of Wuhan HandX Innovation Technology, which developed Yuan You, revealed that a team from Wuhan University contributed sensor solutions and AI technology. Hubei’s local industrial chain provided over 80% of the robot’s hardware components.
“The first Yuan You robot was developed in just six months of R&D and entered mass production in April 2025. Our factory has four automated lines capable of producing 1,500 units each year,” Yuan noted.
Ensuring these robots perform effectively is crucial. In June 2025, Hubei established a humanoid robot training center, known as the Hubei Humanoid Robot Innovation Center. Here, new robots are trained using data collected by specialists.
“We offer 23 high-fidelity simulation scenarios and over ten temporary ones, capable of training hundreds of robots simultaneously and collecting more than a million data points annually,” said Liu Chuanhou, the center’s COO. “This data is then reviewed, labeled, cleaned, and used for training large AI models to promote ongoing robot improvements.”
To accelerate the transition from training to real-world applications, Wuhan has unveiled a three-year action plan supported by policies that encourage diverse use cases. According to Dong Danhong, head of Wuhan’s Science and Technology Bureau, the focus is on enabling robots to handle hazardous tasks, manufacturing processes, elderly care, and education.
Positioning the store as a national showcase for humanoid robotics, the management aims for over 100,000 visitors in 2026 and plans to host more than 50 training sessions for over 3,000 participants—nurturing both young talent and professional expertise.
“While what humanoid robots can do today is still limited, in the future, they will become common in millions of households and industries, playing an important role in our daily lives,” the manager concluded.
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