The Computing Conference 2018, Alibaba’s annual flagship event, will showcase an array of cutting-edge technology from the company and its partners from September 19 to 22.

The theme of this year’s Conference is Empower Digital China, and more than 60,000 participants—including entrepreneurs and developers across China—are expected to attend the four-day event in Hangzhou, Alibaba’s home base.

Now in its ninth year, the world-class technology festival will feature the hottest trends in areas such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT) and the blockchain. The Conference also aims to open up a dialogue among top industry experts around technology’s influences on the economy and society.

The Computing Conference is Alibaba’s largest annual technology showcase. It has transformed from a local forum of 20 Internet companies in 2009 to an event that takes place throughout different cities in China before ending in Hangzhou.

Here is what to expect from Alibaba’s action-packed technology showcase:

· Keynotes: On the morning of September 19th, Alibaba speakers including Mr. Jack Ma, Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group; Mr. Simon Hu, Senior Vice President of Alibaba Group and President of Alibaba Cloud; Dr. Wang Jian, Chairman of Technology Steering Committee of Alibaba Group and Mr. Jeff Zhang, Chief Technology Officer of Alibaba Group will reveal Alibaba’s latest technology breakthroughs and the company’s roadmap for developing emerging technologies.

· Dialogue: In addition to presentations from some of Alibaba’s top executives, there will be more than 170 forums, where thousands of the smartest minds in technology will gather to discuss a wide range of topics around the latest innovations in various industries.

· Exhibition: The exhibition this year will be the largest in the history of the Conference, housing more than 200 tech companies—of which at least 20% hail from overseas—in a 30,000-square-meter exhibition area. Visitors will have an unprecedented experience in interacting with the coolest innovations, including self-service stores, smart logistics car, service robots and much more.

· Sports, Music and Hackathons: Technology was never meant to be boring. Alongside the forums, there will be TechGo, a smart sports event that offers participants the thrill of technology-aided basketball, golf, surfing, biking and running; Music Festival, where technology and music combine to amaze and inspire, alongside voice-based 3D mapping and a robot bartender, and Geek-out Experience, where technology enthusiasts will compete with each other during hackathons and challenges on different themes including smart home design, wild-life animal protection, weather forecasts and the blockchain.