Later in the race, as a large group of runners neared the finish line on Sunday, the robot Tiangong entered the track about 100 meters from the finish, acting as a "closing pacer" to help athletes cross the finish line together.

Produced by the National and ­Local Co-Built Embodied Intelligence Robot Innovation Center, Tiangong is a first-generation humanoid robot. Standing 163 centimeters tall and weighing 43 kilograms, it is the world's first full-sized humanoid robot that runs on electric drive, according to the official introduction to the robot.