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BEIJING — A humanoid robot that won a half-marathon race for robots in Beijing on Sunday ran faster than the human world record in a show of China's technological leaps. Lightning, a running robot developed by Chinese smartphone maker Honor, finished the 21-kilometer run in Beijing in a stunning 50 minutes and 26 seconds, beating the human world record by more than six minutes.

That was faster than the human world record holder, Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo, who finished the same distance in about 57 minutes in March at the Lisbon road race. The performance by the robot marked a significant step forward from last year's inaugural race, during which the winning robot finished in 2 hours, 40 minutes and 42 seconds.

A humanoid robot competing against flesh-and-blood runners has broken the world record at a Beijing half-marathon, showcasing the rapid technological advancements achieved by Chinese makers. Spectators lined the roads in Yizhuang in the capital's south on Sunday to watch the machines and their human rivals race, each group in a separate lane to avoid accidents or collisions. About 40% of participating robots competed autonomously, while the remaining 60% were remote controlled, according to Beijing's E-Town tech hub.

Current conditions in Beijing: Scattered clouds, 71°F (feels like 70°F). Humidity: 33%. Wind: 8 mph.

Today's forecast: High of 79°F, low of 55°F. No active weather alerts.

Data from OpenWeatherMap as of April 22, 2026.

Objectively speaking, Beijing ranks as one of the safer mega cities in the world for tourists. Violent crime rates are low compared to many Western capitals. Heavy surveillance, strong police presence, and strict law enforcement contribute to an environment where street crime is limited.

Beijing is generally a low crime city for visitors. Violent crime against tourists is rare, and heavy police presence, surveillance systems, and strict law enforcement contribute to a strong sense of public order. Petty crime exists but is manageable with basic awareness. Compared to many global capitals, Beijing feels notably secure.

Beijing consistently ranks as one of the safest major cities in the world for travelers. Violent crime is extremely rare, and gun-related incidents are virtually nonexistent. Police presence is visible in busy areas, transportation hubs, and tourist districts, contributing to a strong sense of security. Most tourists report feeling safe walking alone during the day, using public transportation, and exploring local neighborhoods.

BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhua) -- China will roll out a policy package to integrate its urban and rural employment policy system, facilitating two-way mobility and the integration of labor markets, according to official guidelines made public Wednesday. The guidelines, jointly released by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, aim to promote high-quality and sufficient employment for both urban and rural workers.

The measures focus on developing employment opportunities, building equal-access public employment services, allocating training resources, protecting worker rights, and assisting disadvantaged groups. The document calls for expanding county- and township-level job opportunities, tapping employment potential in consumer sectors such as cultural tourism, debut economy, ice-and-snow economy, and inbound tourism, and creating grassroots jobs suited for young job seekers.

By the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), the guidelines aim to further smooth employment channels, balance employment services and training resources between urban and rural areas, and foster a fairer employment environment, thereby supporting high-quality and sufficient employment as well as high-quality economic and social development. China enters 2026 with economic growth around 4.5-5%, down from previous years but still substantial. Youth unemployment remains high (around 15-17% for ages 16-24), but demand stays strong in advanced manufacturing, green energy, and technology sectors.

Q: What is the average fee for international schools in Beijing in 2026? A: Most established international schools in Beijing charge between RMB 150,000 and RMB 380,000 per year (approx. USD 21,000 to USD 53,000). Fees vary by school, year group, and whether extras such as lunch and activities are included.

A: For popular schools such as WAB and ISB, six to twelve months ahead is realistic. For 2026 entry, enquiries should ideally have begun already. Waiting until you have confirmed your start date often means missing enrolment windows. Admissions for the top international schools in Beijing tend to have waiting lists so it is recommended that parents apply well in advance to secure a spot for their children.

Multiple measures were taken to respond to the peaking of school-age population. We added 24,000 places at primary and middle schools, and stepped up the reform to establish school groups in primary and secondary education. The proportion of Beijing high school graduates admitted to higher education remained stable. In 2026, elementary school tuition in Beijing varies widely. Budget schools may start around RMB 140,000 per year, mid-tier schools range between RMB 260,000–350,000, while premium institutions can exceed RMB 400,000 annually.

Han Chenyu, a 25-year-old student who watched the race from behind a safety barrier, barely had time to take out her phone and snap a picture of the leading robot as it whizzed past. She told the AFP news agency she was enthusiastic about such leaps in technology and thought the event was "pretty cool". But, she added, "as someone who works for a living, I'm a little worried about it sometimes. I feel like technology is advancing so fast that it might start affecting people's jobs", particularly with artificial intelligence (AI) growing increasingly sophisticated.

This year was the second edition of the Beijing E-Town Half Marathon, and it reportedly hosted more than 12,000 humans and 300 humanoid robots — on parallel but equal courses. For the humans, Zhao Hai-Jie of China won the men's race in 1:07:47, while Wang Qiao-Zia, also of China, won for the women in 1:18:06.

Spectators reacted with a mix of amazement and unease at the machines' rapid progress. "It's the first time robots have surpassed humans, and that's something I never imagined," Sun Zhigang, who attended the event with his son, told The Associated Press. "This may signal the arrival of sort of a new era."

Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi will visit Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar upon invitation from April 22 to 26. He will attend with Defense Minister Dong Jun the first meeting of China-Cambodia 2+2 strategic dialogue mechanism between foreign and defense ministers.

During the visit to Cambodia in April last year, President Xi Jinping and the leader of Cambodia agreed on establishing the "2+2" strategic dialogue mechanism between foreign ministers and defense ministers of the two countries. It fully demonstrates the high-level and strategic nature of the bilateral relations.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Defense Minister Dong Jun will have an in-depth exchange of views with the Cambodian side with a focus on bilateral relations, cooperation on political and defense security issues, and international and regional situations. They will have meetings with Cambodian leaders. China is ready to work with Cambodia to make good use of the strategic communication platform, and make coordinated efforts to advance high-quality development and high-level security for the prosperity, revitalization and long-term stability of the two countries.

BEIJING, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 20 April 2026 – China Unicom and Huawei capped off a series of successful 5G-A GigaUplink deployments by guaranteeing the premium connectivity at the Beijing E-Town Half-Marathon and Humanoid Robot Half-Marathon, where human and robot runners competed alongside through the E-Town in Daxing District.

This marks the two companies' latest landmark showcase for sports events, combining 5G-A and AI to provide fast uplink with huge capacity and low latency for event organization and media services, digital engagement, and humanoid participation. China Unicom and Huawei turned to 5G-A 3CC on 3.5 GHz and 2.1 GHz for the event, ensuring an uplink fulfillment at 20 Mbps surpassing 99.6%, along with a peak speed of field-tested performance.

"5G-A and AI are essential digital infrastructure, enabling us to bring embodied AI to sports. Given the new dynamics of AI development, we will double down on our priorities over connectivity, computing power, services, and security to sharpen our competitive edges as a preferred telecom partner for intelligent sports and a core enabler for intelligent industry transformation."

Guided by the established plans, we will continue to implement the Regulations on Urban Renewal, and improve the toolkit of policy incentives. We will provide greater support in terms of quotas on development capacity as well as fiscal and financial policies, and encourage mixed-use land development. A dedicated task force for coordination will be established to expedite project launch and implementation.

We will inspect 507 units of old and dilapidated buildings and sub-standard housing to address potential hazards, complete the renovation of over 300 old residential compounds, and install more than 800 elevators in old residential buildings. Efforts will be made to promote cluster-based renewal of mixed-use neighborhoods where people can work, live, shop and access services. We will complete the renovation of over 300 old residential compounds, and install more than 800 elevators in old residential buildings.

The support will target cities at the prefectural level and above in 2026, with no more than 15 cities to be selected through competitive review, the notice stated. Selected cities will receive fixed-amount subsidies from the central government, the notice revealed. We made 67,000 units of subsidized rental housing available, completed 100,000 units of subsidized housing, and advanced the construction of quality homes.

Shares of Chinese robot-related firms rallied sharply at the close on Monday, buoyed by the strong performances of robot runners at the 2nd Humanoid Robot Half Marathon in Beijing on Sunday, with several stocks hitting their daily limit-up. Multiple component suppliers related to the championship robot runner said they expect significant business growth following the technological breakthrough.

The winner from Honor, a Chinese smartphone maker, completed the 21-kilometer (13-mile) race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, according to a WeChat post by the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town, where the race kicked off. The winner from Honor, a Chinese smartphone maker, completed the race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, running faster than the human world record in a show of China's technological leaps.

Speeding up the development of products like humanoid robots and their applications is part of the 2026-2030 plan for the world's second-largest economy. London-based technology research and advisory group Omdia recently ranked three Chinese companies — AGIBOT, Unitree Robotics and UBTech Robotics Corp. — as the only first-tier vendors in its global assessment for shipment numbers for general-purpose embodied intelligent robots.