Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival 平溪天燈節

Pingxi Lantern Festival

Just as the smoke begins to clear from the fireworks after Lunar New Year, people already start looking forward to Lantern Festival (元宵節). Throughout Taiwan, each city has its own way of marking this celebration. Temples are lit with ornate hand-crafted lanterns and even entire parks are decorated with elaborate lights illuminating the night sky. Even with spectacular events held throughout the island, none can quite hold a light to the Pingxi Lantern Festival (平溪天燈節).

Located in the mountains just north of the sprawling capital of Taipei, Pingxi is a district made up of old mining towns. The days of hard labor are mostly over. In recent years, these villages have been turned into hot tourist destinations attracting travelers from around the world.

After the Pingxi Lantern Festival, why not wait around for Ghost Month to check out the City God Procession? Read more here!

How To Get To Pingxi

If you’re wanting to travel to check out the Pingxi Lantern Festival for yourself, first take the train from Taipei to Ruifang Station (瑞芳). After arriving in Ruifang, transfer to the Pingxi Line to the town of Shifen (十分).

Despite the name, the Pingxi Lantern Festival is actually held in Shifen. The fastest train to Ruifang costs 76 NT (2.50 USD) and takes about 35 minutes. It will then take another 30 minutes and 19 NT (0.63 USD) to get to Shifen. Since the festival attracts thousands of people, many special bus and train services will be added to ease crowding.

After Shifen are you planning on visiting Jiufen? You can read my whole review on Jiufen here!

Is Traveling To Pingxi Worth It?

Not counting the individual lanterns released on the railroad tracks of Pingxi and Shifen, the festival casts off hundreds of orange flickering lanterns up into the air. The spectacle is mesmerizing but comes at a cost. No, we are not talking about the 150 NT (4.94 USD) it costs to send your wishes up into the heavens, but when they come crashing down into the surrounding mountains.

In recent years, there have been local efforts to encourage people to help clean up the lanterns. The government even offers 8 NT (0.26 USD) for every lantern recycled. Despite these efforts, you can still find one’s hopes and dreams dangling from an overhanging tree branch.

Pollution aside, Shifen offers just Jiufen (九份) or Neiwan (内弯). You’ll find many of the same souvenir shops and street food stalls that you could find anywhere else in Taiwan. What helps make Shifen stand apart is its breathtaking nature trails and waterfalls. After a long hike, splurging in a tourist trap seems much more well-deserved.

Another breathtaking mountain town you won’t want to miss is Beipu. You can read more here!

Packed Tight

The official date of the Lantern Festival is the 15th of the first month according to the Lunar Calender. The festivities for the Pingxi Lanter Festival are usually spread out between two dates. In 2023, the first event was held on February 5th (the actual date of the festival) at Sky Lantern Square (十分天燈廣場). The second event occurred on February 11th at Pingxi Junior High School.

People will be packed in like sardines in order to get a close view of the participants releasing their lanterns into the air. If you do not arrive early, you’ll be left peeking over the tops of heads outside the walls of the complex. Although you won’t be able to see many of the performers on stage, you still be able to catch the floating lanterns being cast out into the night, before inevitably plummeting down into the nearby forests.

Are you looking for more nature? Why not hike the Lion’s Head Mountain Trail in Hsinchu?

Releasing The Lanterns

Starting from 6 pm, lanterns are released roughly every 15 minutes until 8:30 pm. In between each of the releases, participants are ushered in and out of the grounds and handed their lanterns. If you are wanting to participate in releasing lanterns yourself, be sure to arrive early in Shifen to register. It is free to release the lanterns, but spaces are limited. You also may only release the lanterns provided to you.

In order to get a good look at the lanterns, spectators will be clinging to lampposts and dangling from fences in hopes of taking the perfect shot. Despite all of their efforts, everyone’s heads will be looking up, not at the participants themselves.  The lanterns then quickly fade off into the dark while singers prance out on stage to entertain the crowds as a new group of lanterns is brought to the center of the courtyard.

If you’re really wanting to get off the beaten path, you can’t get more off the grid than in Sanwan!

Traveling to the Pingxi Lantern Festival

As much as Taiwan advertises the Pingxi Lantern Festival, it is bound to catch the attention of even the most hardcore of travelers. While the crowds and the lanterns themselves are nowhere near as grand as they are hyped up to be, it is still a great experience to cross off of your Taiwan bucket list. You may not be dying to go back, but you surely won’t regret visiting Pingxi.

The Pingxi Lantern Festival adds an extra layer of excitement to your trip. Of course, Shifen Old Street and all of the restaurants will be swarming with tourists, but this is inevitable during the holiday. This unique festival attracts tourists from all walks of life, lifting their wishes high up into the air as one. Many of them with eyes so wide they are unable to see their own lanterns fizzling out by the river banks below them.

You can find all of the best things to do in Taiwan on our complete list here!