CRI听力: Japanese Robots on exhibition in Beijing

If you are stressed out and people are starting to get on your nerves, why not chill out by spending the day with some robots? You may find them fun and far less demanding than human beings.

Let's follow Nila Nyakoa for an adventure at the Apora Robot Wonderland in Beijing where humanoid and animal robots are now being exhibited.

The Apora Robot Wonderland, neighboring the Bird's Nest, is indeed another world. It is almost like entering the worlds of the movie Bladerunner, Jurassic Park and King Kong all at once.

People of all ages can be seen smiling, laughing and expressing feelings of amazement and joy at how fantasy has now become reality. Welcome to the age of the robot, and robots that entertain!

At the entrance of the wonderland you are welcomed by a band made up of six robot-animals. Yuan Shan the finance manager of the exhibition explains the role of the band.

"The band has an elephant robot, a little doggy, and a cat, who sing while playing piano and bass together. They give a big welcome to everybody".

All the robots in the wonderland are from Japan, a country renowned for its advanced robotics.

A walk into the tropical zone of the wonderland leads you to the huge robot fantasy animals. Here you can see some wild and very scary animals like a red-eyed dragon, King-Kong, a giant scorpion, and a giant bee that you see devouring its prey.

Yuan describes some of the scenes in the animal world.

"There's a giant bee and I think it's eating something -- honey, maybe. And it's moving. It's flying. And beside it are smaller bees."

"Here is a big King Kong with a very scary face. Look, he's opened his mouth. I think everybody loves him even though he looks quite scary and angry. He's probably hungry too".

According to Yuan, the exhibition promotes a strong message of cultural integration and the need to promote Chinese culture. This, he says, explains why the giant dragon at the wonderland attracts so much attention.

"The dragon is the symbol of China. I think everybody loves the dragon in China because it's a lucky animal".

But maybe what makes Apora Robot wonderland truly astounding are the humanoid robots on show here. These robots speak excellent Chinese as they welcome visitors into their world. One of the most beloved is the beautifully-dressed female robot called He Mu. She looks like a real- life woman. Her body moves in a graceful and realistic manner. Moving her limbs and making facial gestures as if she were actually human, He Mu welcomes visitors in Chinese.

"Hello everybody. My name is He Mu. I'm happy to be here. I'm different from the other robots because I'm pretty. I have long hair and my body is classic. People here are very nice."

In one corner of Apora Robot World is the Lion Dancer robot that shakes its body to the rhythm of the music.

Representing a blend of Chinese and Japanese culture, the lion dancer moves to the tune of Japanese music. It later throws off its lion costume to emerge as a warrior and addresses visitors in Chinese.

"Hello everybody, I'm the lion dancer from Japan. I came here to dance with you. Hope you can dance with me."

While a robot exhibition of this magnitude has never been held in the mainland, the Apora Robot Wonderland illustrates how technology can provide people with a unique form of entertainment.

Zhu Feng is a visitor to the wonderland.

"It's exciting to be here. I love the animal band. It's marvelous".

Fu Zheng is 17 years old and she's been here a couple of times.

"I like the lion dancing part of the exhibition".

Apora Robot Wonderland is part of activities organized to celebrate the second anniversary of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. An exploration of this robot wonderland should not be missed. The exhibit will run until October 15th.

For CRI, I'm Nila Nyakoa.