Taishan Mountain, one of China's Five Great Mountains, is a UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage site. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The inaugural CMG World Robot Mount Tai (Taishan) Competition will take place in Tai'an, Shandong province, on Oct 29.

The race will be held along the classic hiking route from Hongmen to Zhongtianmen — about 3.8 kilometers including over 3,100 stone steps.

The event features two main categories: speed racing and special challenges, including four official events for humanoid robots, legged robots, legged robots with loads, and exoskeleton-assisted climbing, plus one all-terrain scouting challenge. These events test robots' adaptability, autonomous navigation, and stable operation in complex environments. Preparations are now largely complete.

Held on the most revered of China's Five Great Mountains, the route passes by numerous cliff inscriptions and ancient sites, creating a new model that blends technology, culture, and sport. The challenging terrain — with continuous steps, steep slopes, and narrow passages — places high demands on robots' perception, decision-making, and execution.

Taishan Mountain embraces new technology with smart robotic devices designed to enhance the visitor experience. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

During the event, Tai'an will also host an embodied intelligence industry development fair, an embodied intelligence industry expo, and technology matchmaking sessions.

Leading enterprises, universities, research institutes, and investment institutions from home and abroad will be invited to participate, creating a platform for technical exchange, product display, supply-demand matching, and resource cooperation — enabling two-way empowerment between competition and industrial development.

A robot Taishan Mountain challenge short video contest will also be held to showcase highlights of the event and enhance its reach and influence.

In recent years, Tai'an has built a strong foundation for robotics and embodied intelligence. It is one of China's 23 cities developing data labeling and leads Shandong in data element reform, with over 30 AI ecosystem enterprises.

Hosting the inaugural CMG World Robot Mount Tai (Taishan) Competition will help Tai'an seize future industry opportunities and boost its competitiveness. The city will use this event to deepen industry-academia-research cooperation and attract high-quality robotics projects.

The inaugural CMG World Robot Mount Tai (Taishan) Competition to be held in Tai'an next month features over 3,100 steps and four events for various types of robots. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]