Maybe you’ve noticed a cutesy lil’ deer mascot named 乐乐 (Lele) posing around town, or maybe you’ve actually opened up the papers today to see Shanghai media enthusiastically promoting the occasion – but yes, the Shanghai Tourism Festival is starting up this Saturday.

The annual tourism fest is a chance for Shanghai to promote its own attractions, as well as to show off other countries as possible vacation spots to the ever-increasing Shanghai middle class. So what’s in store for us this year? Some of the highlights include:

SEPTEMBER 12
The Opening Gala – held at Happy Valley in the not-so-specific time frame of “afternoon.”
The Opening Parade – Starting at 7:30pm, a 22-float parade will travel down Huaihai Lu, between Shaanxi Nan Lu and Xizang Nan Lu.
Carnival Grand Opening – After the parade ends, head over to the Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street between 9pm and 11pm for song and dance performances and other types of carnival-like fun.

SEPTEMBER 13
Jiuzi Park Games – A whole bunch of competitions will take place throughout the day at Jiuzi Park, including photography, shows and… kids’ games. We’re not exactly sure what those kids games are, but the site assures us that if we were old Shanghainese, we’d know exactly what they’re talking about.

SEPTEMBER 17 to 19
Hip Hop Dancing Competition – We’re hoping that this will end up like a Shanghai’s Best Dance Crew contest or something. Watch spins, pop n’ lockin’ and all that good stuff at Century Square on Nanjing Lu.

SEPTEMBER 13 to OCTOBER 6
Food Festival – Major restaurants are apparently participating in various food fairs, flavor dish exhibitions and farm markets throughout the next four weeks. We’re still searching for the page that tells us exactly which restaurants will be participating… if anyone can tip us off, we’d be extremely grateful!