No runtime libraries. No magic. Just simple pre-compilation to a clear code
Super easy to write panels. By panels we mean components that have a lot of HTML code and non-reusable logic
Very good separation of presentation and logic. Almost no HTML within the component file
Declerative coding for presentation. HTML that you write and inspect look similar
Easy syntax. Similar to HTML. All IDEs recognize this format

How does it work

React templates compiles a *.rt file (react template - extended HTML format) into a javascript file. Currently, this file supports requirejs format, that will return a function. This function, when applied, will return a virtual react DOM (based on React.DOM elements and user custom components). A common use case would be that a React component would require a JS file generated by a template, and then call func.apply(this), causing the template to have the component as its context.

Basic concepts for react templates:

Any valid HTML is a template (and comments)
{} to identify JS execution context
rt-if
rt-repeat
rt-scope
rt-class
style
event handlers
doctype rt, require dependencies, and calling other components