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Witness / Attend in Pingxi
Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival
A former coal-mining district in the green hills of New Taipei City, strung along a single-track branch railway through steep river valleys. Pingxi is the home of the Sky Lantern Festival, held each Lantern Festival, when thousands of paper sky lanterns are released together into the night, and where visitors write wishes on lanterns and launch them from the old railway towns of Pingxi and Shifen through the year.
Organized by New Taipei City Government, which publishes the official dates and program.
Dates & details verified against: Official city source ↗
Why here
The Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival is Taiwan's most photographed folk event, when the whole night sky above a small railway valley fills with rising paper lanterns. Held each Lantern Festival, the close of the lunar new year, in the old coal towns of Pingxi and Shifen, it draws thousands of people who write hopes and prayers on tall paper lanterns, then release them all at once so that hundreds of glowing lights climb together into the dark. The New Taipei City Government has run it as a mass public event since 1999, staging synchronized releases and lantern displays over two evenings, but the ritual itself is older and folk in spirit, a way of sending wishes up to heaven. It is free to watch and open to anyone, and outside the festival you can launch your own lantern from the train tracks at Shifen any day of the year. To do it well, come by train, expect dense crowds, and stay for the mass release rather than just the daytime market.
Best months
The festival falls on the Taiwan Lantern Festival, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, which lands in February or early March; in 2027 the Lantern Festival is around 20 February. The New Taipei City Government confirms and publishes the exact dates and release times each January, and typically holds two evening release events. February in the Pingxi hills is cool and often damp, so bring warm and waterproof layers. Rain can affect the releases. The crowds are very large on festival nights, and the branch-line trains and roads into the valley are heavily congested, so allow plenty of time and be patient.
Getting there & around
Pingxi and Shifen sit on the Pingxi branch railway in the hills east of Taipei, reached by train from Ruifang, which connects to the main line from Taipei; on festival nights this single-track line is extremely busy and services are supplemented, so travel early and expect queues. There is no admission and no booking to watch. Many visitors join an organized coach trip from Taipei on the night for the transport, since driving and parking near the release sites are difficult. Lanterns to launch are sold locally. Dress warmly, keep belongings secure in the crush, and check the official New Taipei City schedule for the year's exact dates and release points.
Skill levels: beginner
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