Shenzhen’s Longgang to host “Thousand‑Person Crayfish Festival” with free OpenClaw installs

Lead

Shenzhen’s Longgang District (龙岗区) has announced a partnership with Kimi (Kimi) to stage a “Thousand‑Person Crayfish Festival” on March 14 that doubles as a promotional push for OpenClaw robotic agents. It has been reported that Kimi engineers will provide free OpenClaw installations to users at the event, and that Kimi will grant free trial access to its “Kimi Claw” offering while launching API‑level crayfish (龙虾) discounts with up to 40% top‑up coupon subsidies.

What the offer includes

According to local reporting, the March 14 gathering at the Shenzhen Robot Theatre will include hands‑on installation and trial opportunities aimed at accelerating on‑site deployments. The district’s announcement reportedly also includes an API promotion that could provide firms deploying “crayfish” applications with significant recharge rebates. Local authorities say the aim is to lower friction for companies and developers to adopt OpenClaw‑compatible tools and services.

Policy and subsidies

The event follows a public consultation released March 7 by the Longgang Artificial Intelligence (Robotics) Office on “Measures to Support the Development of OpenClaw & OPC” (征求意见稿). The draft proposes a range of supports: free deployment zones for OpenClaw, development and promotion support for OpenClaw‑type agents, up to RMB 2 million subsidies for contributions to international communities or for developing industry‑relevant skill packs, 50% discounts on certain data services, 30% subsidies for market‑priced AI NAS devices, and a digital‑worker voucher program covering up to 40% of project investment with a single‑company annual cap of RMB 2 million. It has been reported that these measures have prompted external attention and debate.

Why it matters

For Western readers, the event is an example of how Chinese local governments mix public events, branding and targeted subsidies to accelerate adoption of domestic AI and robotics stacks. Against a backdrop of tighter U.S. export controls and broader tech decoupling, municipalities like Longgang are incentivizing local ecosystems to build and deploy home‑grown tools. Is this a marketing stunt or industrial policy in plain sight? Either way, the measures remain a draft under consultation and may be adjusted before final implementation.