Short answer
The Lantern Festival is the 15th night of the first lunar month — Tuesday 3 March 2026, and Saturday 20 February 2027. It marks the first full moon of the lunar year and ends the fifteen-day Chinese New Year season.
It is not a public holiday. In 2026 the date lands on a Tuesday, so offices and schools work the next morning. The practical move is the weekend before, 28 February to 1 March, when the same displays are lit, the crowds are the same or slightly worse, and you do not lose a working day.
Four displays justify a detour: the lantern fair on Xi'an's Ming city wall, the Yuyuan Garden display in Shanghai, the Confucius Temple and Qinhuai River lanterns in Nanjing, and the big illuminated sets in Zigong, Sichuan. For the ticketed ones, book on the official channel before you travel.
What the festival is
Lantern Festival — Yuanxiao jie in the north, also called Shangyuan — closes the New Year period. Families eat glutinous rice balls, temples and streets hang lanterns, riddles are pinned to them for passers-by to solve, and lion and dragon dancers work the crowds.
The lunar date is fixed; the Gregorian date is not. It always falls fifteen days after Chinese New Year's Day, which puts it somewhere between early February and early March.
| Year | Chinese New Year's Day | Lantern Festival | Public holiday |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Tuesday 17 February | Tuesday 3 March | No — the Spring Festival holiday ended 23 February |
| 2027 | Saturday 6 February | Saturday 20 February | No — a Saturday, which is the more convenient case |
Because it is an evening rather than a day off, the commercial displays run for weeks. Lantern fairs typically open before Chinese New Year and stay lit into March, so the exact date matters less than you would think. Our Chinese festivals guide explains where it sits in the festival year.
Where to see lanterns worth travelling for
These are the annual displays with real production behind them. Dates, ticketing and opening hours change every year, so confirm on the official channel before booking travel.
| City | Display | What it is actually like |
|---|---|---|
| Xi'an | Spring Festival lantern fair on the Ming city wall | Large illuminated installations mounted along the wall walkway. A separate ticketed event on top of the normal wall entry. Go at dusk so you get the blue hour, then the lights. |
| Shanghai | Yuyuan Garden and the old bazaar | The best-known city display in China, with walk-through sets and timed entry on peak evenings. It sells out. Expect to be moved along a one-way route. |
| Nanjing | Confucius Temple and the Qinhuai River | Lanterns on the water, boats, and a market district that is genuinely busy at night. Walking the riverbank costs nothing extra. |
| Zigong, Sichuan | Large-scale lantern sets across a dedicated park | The strongest lantern-crafting tradition in the country. Plan a full evening rather than an hour; the site is big and the sets are building-sized. |
| Beijing | Park and temple lantern installations tied to the temple fairs | The festival week overlaps the fair season, so lanterns come as part of a bigger event. Timed entry and security checks apply during the holidays. |
| Datong, Shanxi | Lantern displays along the restored city wall | A quieter version of the Xi'an experience, with fewer crowds and a walkable old town. |
| Harbin | Ice lanterns and the ice-and-snow festival | The ice festival usually peaks before the Lantern Festival. Check what is still standing rather than assuming the two coincide. |
The travel rush overlap, honestly
The Spring Festival travel rush, chunyun, runs for roughly forty days — starting about two weeks before New Year's Eve and finishing about three weeks after. The Lantern Festival falls inside that window, but well after the worst of it.
- In 2026 the official holiday ends on 23 February. The crush is concentrated on the days either side of that date, not on 3 March.
- Return traffic continues into early March, including students heading back to universities, so book high-speed rail a few days ahead rather than on the day.
- The weekend of 28 February to 1 March is the busy one for the displays themselves, especially in the evening at any ticketed site.
- Hotels have already dropped back from holiday pricing in most cities by early March. That is the argument for coming late rather than coming on New Year's Day.
Crowd patterns across the year are laid out in Chinese holidays and crowds if you are choosing between two dates.
Seeing it well: six practical notes
- Arrive before sunset, not afterLantern displays look best in the twenty minutes of blue light after dusk, when the sky still has colour and the lanterns are already on. Arrive an hour before sunset and walk the route once in daylight to find your angles.
- Book timed entry for ticketed displaysYuyuan and the Xi'an wall fair both cap entry. The official channel is the only place worth buying from; resale listings for holiday events are a common trap.
- Bring the camera you can hold steadyMost crowds forbid tripods and the light is low. A fast lens and a high ISO beat a long exposure you cannot set up in a moving queue. Flash ruins everybody's evening.
- Eat where the queue is localRice balls — yuanxiao in the north, tangyuan in the south — are sold in shops and street stalls for days around the festival. Ask for one portion rather than guessing at the portion size.
- Expect a one-way routeBig displays herd visitors along a fixed path with barriers and staff. That is normal, not a sign that something is wrong. It also means you cannot backtrack to retake a shot.
- Check whether sky lanterns are allowed where you areRules are local and mostly restrictive because of fire risk. Watch the parade, solve the riddles, and leave the launch to licensed displays.
Build it into a trip
The strongest itinerary is Chinese New Year first and the Lantern Festival last, with the quiet week in between. In 2026 that means arriving in mid-February for the temple fairs, keeping the cities you wanted to see during the calm days after 24 February, and finishing on 3 March at whichever display you built the route around.
If you are still sorting the first 48 hours — SIM, payment apps, transport cards — start with the before you fly checklist. February and early March in most of China is cold, and a working phone with a translation app matters more than it does in summer.
Frequently asked questions
When is the Lantern Festival in 2026?
The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th night of the first lunar month, which is Tuesday 3 March 2026. It is exactly two weeks after Chinese New Year's Day on 17 February and marks the first full moon of the lunar year.
When is the Lantern Festival in 2027?
Saturday 20 February 2027, two weeks after Chinese New Year's Day on 6 February 2027. Because the lunar calendar shifts by about three weeks either way, the date ranges between early February and early March from year to year.
Is the Lantern Festival a public holiday in China?
No. It is a festival evening, not a statutory holiday, so offices, schools and shops work the next morning. The official Spring Festival public holiday in 2026 ends on 23 February, more than a week before the Lantern Festival, which is why the lantern displays stay lit for weeks rather than for one night.
Where are the best lantern displays in China?
The displays that draw travellers are the Spring Festival lantern fair on Xi'an's Ming city wall, the Yuyuan Garden display in Shanghai, the Confucius Temple and Qinhuai River lanterns in Nanjing, and the large-scale lantern sets in Zigong, Sichuan. Beijing's parks and temple fairs keep lantern installations through the same period, and several other cities illuminate their old city walls.
Do I need tickets for the Lantern Festival displays?
For the famous ones, yes, and often in advance. Shanghai's Yuyuan Garden display is separately ticketed and sells out on peak evenings, and Xi'an's wall fair is a paid event on top of the normal wall ticket. Check the official channel for the city you are visiting for dates, prices and whether timed entry applies.
Does the Lantern Festival clash with the Spring Festival travel rush?
It sits inside the roughly forty-day travel rush but after the official holiday crush, which ends on 23 February 2026. Trains and flights are busy, particularly on the weekend either side of 3 March and as students return to university, but nothing like the days around New Year's Eve. Book a few days ahead rather than a few hours ahead.
What do people eat on the Lantern Festival?
Glutinous rice balls, called yuanxiao in the north and tangyuan in the south, filled with sesame, peanut, red bean or meat depending on the region. They are sold everywhere in the days before the festival, and households and restaurants both serve them. The name is a pun on family reunion.
Can I release a sky lantern?
Usually not where tourists want to. Sky lantern releases are restricted or banned in many cities and scenic areas for fire safety, and the rules are set locally. Lantern riddles, lantern parades and lion dances are the safer way to join in, and the big displays are lit installations rather than anything you launch yourself.
Is it worth planning a trip around the Lantern Festival?
Only as the last night of a longer Spring Festival trip. It is one evening, not a holiday week, and the 2026 date falls on a Tuesday. Build a February trip around Chinese New Year and let 3 March be the finale, or aim for the weekend before it when the same displays are lit and the following morning is free.
Related reading
If your dates are flexible, compare this with the crowd notes in Chinese holidays and crowds, and read Chinese festivals guide to see which other festivals in the calendar are worth planning a trip around.
Compiled from the 2026 lunar calendar dates for Chinese New Year's Day and the Lantern Festival, the General Office of the State Council 2026 public holiday notice, and published arrangements for the annual lantern displays in Xi'an, Shanghai, Nanjing and Zigong, cross-checked 30 September 2026. Display dates, ticketing and entry rules are set by each city and change every year — the organiser's official channel is the authoritative version.