A hundred sky lanterns take flight in unison; three new art installations become must-visit landmarks

By Fresh, Traveler’s Family (compiled and reported)

On February 1 (Saturday, the eighth day of the Lunar New Year) and February 8 (Saturday, the fifteenth day and the Lantern Festival), grand events will be held at Pingxi Junior High School and Shifen Square respectively. In addition to two mass sky lantern release evenings, there are also experience tours in Pingxi and Shuangxi, making this the only event in the country that releases over 100 sky lanterns simultaneously.

Aside from queuing up on-site on the day of the event to get a free sky lantern release voucher, visitors can also enjoy much more than just lanterns. The mountain town of Pingxi offers diverse ecology, charming railway scenery, nostalgic mining heritage culture, and local snacks—all worth exploring.

This year not only increases the quota for the “Pingxi Experience Tour,” but also adds a new Shuangxi route. In collaboration with the business associations of both areas, a total of 800 spots for 599-dollar Pingxi and Shuangxi experience tours are available. Registration opens at 10:00 AM on January 7 on the official event website. Participants in the experience tours can also reserve a spot for the evening sky lantern release, but spots are limited.

For the sky lantern release, on February 1, there will be 8 rounds of releases with 100 lanterns per round, while on February 8, there will be 10 rounds with 150 lanterns per round. Starting at 10:00 AM on the day of the event, visitors can collect free sky lantern release vouchers on-site at Pingxi Junior High School and Shifen Square to join the evening lantern release. Unlike the usual single lantern releases on regular days along the old streets of Pingxi, everyone gathering together to light a hundred lanterns simultaneously makes wishes more powerful, creating an especially warm atmosphere.

Witnessing the spectacular scene of hundreds of sky lanterns ascending together is what earns the “Pingxi-exclusive” experience consistent praise from international media, and it’s also the key draw that brings hundreds of thousands of people to this mountain town every year. The “New Taipei City Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival” has also been featured on media lists as one of the “40 Travel Experiences to Have Before You Turn 40.”