Shanghai's parks are offering a series of special events as they compete with each other to attract visitors over the weeklong National Day holiday.

During the first week of October, Century Park in Pudong will hold an Euro-American Performing Arts Festival, featuring more than 10 performing groups from home and abroad, with highlights including sports performances and a Chinese kung fu show.

A team from Britain will entertain visitors by performing stunts on BMX bicycles.

The park will also offer the misleadingly named NBA dunk show, a basketball slam dunk competition that doesn't actually feature any NBA players. The park has held such events twice before, and they have been very well received.

The performances will be held in three spots around the park, from 10am to 5:30pm during the week, but will close at 4pm on October 3 and 6, when the park has to prepare for a fireworks show in the evening.

Tickets for the entire week cost 50 yuan (US$6.2). Visitors can also buy a ticket that allows them to attend the Pudong International Carnival for 85 yuan.

Animal trainers at the Shanghai Wild Animal Park are currently preparing more than 100 animals in the park for a series of special shows during the weeklong holiday.

The show will include black bears and white tigers among other species, park officials said.

(Shanghai Daily September 14, 2005)