Once a year though on the last day of the Lunar New Year , they celebrate the Pingxi Lantern Festival. Luckily my visit last year was just in time for it. It was held on Feb 19,2019, this year it will be held on Feb 7 & 8, 2020.  On this night, thousands of people light up the sky with lanterns. 

Thousands of lanterns light up the sky in Pingxi in Taiwan. Annually on the last night of the Lunar New Year, throves of tourists and locals head to this little town in Pingxi just steps from Old Shifen Street where you can release a lantern year round. 

One batch of the many lantern releases

I joined a tour group via Klook to make traveling to & from Taipei easier and to ensure I get a spot to join. The releasing of lanterns were held in batches. There were over 10 batches that started late afternoon til about 10 in the evening. 

Per batch was given a meeting time and participants lined up in different areas as each group ahead of them had their turn. 

I was in group 9 and had met our group at 6:30 PM in Old Shifen St. We then headed to the festival site which was about 15-20 minutes walk. We finally entered the event proper site at 8:00. 

Each group was generally in one line and had one staff member supervised each lantern group (sub-group of 4). 

There was a short program to welcome participants (in Taiwanese) as each person wrote their wishes on the lantern. Four participants shared one lantern - each one had a side to write their wishes on. We were told earlier in the day to think about what we wanted to write because there would only be a short time given to do so. 

After writing with permanent markers , a different staff member with a blow torch went to light the soybean soaked papers of the lanterns. The lantern is then held down to the ground led by the staff assigned to the group to wait for enough air to build up and fill it. 

When it’s almost ready, each group held on to their side of the lantern. The countdown began and lanterns slowly lifted to fill up the sky. 

Do i need to get tickets ahead of time to join the Pingxi Lantern Festival? 

If you want to be part of the group that releases the lantern, you definitely should get tickets ahead of time by booking a tour or tickets in advance. Due to the limited slots, it is unlikely to get walk in tickets. 

If you just want to see it though, you can see the lanterns in the unrestricted area. 

How do you get to the event venue? 

I booked my tour via Klook. It included the transfers from Taipei City and a short bus city tour. We were given about 2 hours in Old Shifen St then walked to the event site.

FEB 7, 2020: KLOOK DAY TOUR : 2020 Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival Day Tour from Taipei

FEB 8, 2020: KKDAY TOUR 2020:Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival Day Tour

You can take the train from Taipei to Shifen Railway station. Expect the trains to be full going and coming from the festival.

Can you light additional lanterns at the festival proper? 

Based on my observation, they only allowed one per group. Those that brought extra ones weren’t able to light them.

How long is the releasing of lantern event proper? 

It was about 30 minutes per batch.

Where did you get your ticket? 

The tour i booked via Klook was organized by http://www.edison.com.tw/

The Xiahai Chenghuang Temple or Xiahai City of God Temple is popular with single people in search of a good match and young couples that want a smooth relationship. There is a belief that if the Chinese cupid statue is standing, he is eager to find a good marriage for singles. 

With statues of the City God, his wife, the Chinese cupid, and 600 other deities,  this temple is noted to have the highest statue density in Taiwan. 

Just a 10 min walk from Biemen station, this Buddhist temple is a good stop while in Taipei.

Hours of Operation: 6:15 AM-7:45 PM 

Entrance fee: Free

Website: http://www.tpecitygod.org/en-about-xia-hai01.html

Nearest train station: Biemen

One of the Taipei’s top religious sites is the Longshan (Lungshan) Temple. This is a must stop while visiting the city especially during the  lantern festival. Originally built in 1738 , it has been rebuilt multiple times after damages caused by earthquakes, typhoons and World War II. The current structure was built in 1920.

A unique temple with its folk faith and temple arts and crafts, take time to explore the grounds for its details.  There are elaborate stone and wood carvings, sweeping swallowtail eaves, and mosaic like temple decors.

Take a moment to see the two of a kind bronze pillars that hold incense. It depicts the common temple motif of “the fool holding up the sky” 

Dedicated to the Bodhisattva , there are also over 100 other gods & goddesses in the side and rear halls. Enshrined in the center rear is the goddess of sea “Matsu”, on the far right is “Wenchang Dijun”, god of literature , and on the left (red faced) is the god of war & patron of police “Guan Yu”. In front of Guan Yu is the old man under the moon known as the matchmaker or Chinese cupid. 

On my visit, the temple was crowded as it was the birthday of Guanyin on the 19th day of the second lunar month & the lantern festival. 

Enter the main grounds using the right doors on the side. Make sure not to get in the way of people worshipping. After exploring there is a store on the left side for charms and other religious items. There is an english list of the items available. Note the number of the item you want to purchase before approaching the salesperson. 

Take exit 1 of Longshan MRT station, you’ll arrive at the park fronting the temple. 

Hours of Operation: 6AM-10 PM 

Entrance fee: Free

Website: Longshan Temple (in Taiwanese) 

Nearest train station: Longshan Station (exit 1) 

Celebrated on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, the Lantern festival marks the end of the Chinese New Year celebration.

In the capital, a weeklong grand display of lanterns can be seen. This year, Taipei will be celebrating its "Taipei Lantern Festival"  on Feb 8-16,2020. 

The two main venues will be at the : 

1. North Gate on Zhonghua Rd (between Beimen MRT station & Ximen MRT station)

2. Nanxing Park on Nangang Road (near Nangang MRT station)

There are performers and activities during the festival. You can check this Schedule of Events for the detailed activities for your day of visit. 

Here are some of the lanterns from last year’s festival. 

Official Website:https://2020.lanternfestival.taipei/

The Pingxi Lantern Festival will be celebrated on the 7th & 8th of February. 

More on my experience of last year’s festivities: Pingxi Lantern Festival 2019

There are other spots in Taiwan like the Taiwan Lantern Festival 2020  in Taichung.