Thirteen Nights of Light on the Chiayi Plain
The first thing you notice isn’t the lanterns — it’s the parking situation. At 4 PM on a weekday, the shuttle buses from Chiayi HSR station are already packed, and the crowd funneling through security checkpoints moves at the pace of wet concrete. This is what happens when a free, open-air festival draws several million visitors over thirteen days.
The Taiwan Lantern Festival (台灣燈會) marks the end of the Lunar New Year season, falling on the 15th day of the first lunar month. In 2026, Chiayi County hosts for the third time — after 2007 and 2018 — and the scale has ballooned accordingly. The official count is 1 main lantern, 2 secondary lanterns, 23 themed zones, and over 600 individual works spread across four exhibition areas near the county government complex in Taibao City. The festival runs from March 3 to 15.
The Tree That Replaced the Horse
Here’s something that might confuse repeat visitors: 2026 is the Year of the Horse, but the main lantern isn’t a horse. The organizers broke with the zodiac tradition this year. The centerpiece is called ‘光沐 — 世界的阿里山’ (Light Bath — Alishan of the World), a 21-meter-tall structure inspired by the sacred cypress trees of Alishan. It was collaboratively designed by artists Yao Chung-Han, Lu Yen-Chen, and Chen Wei-Zhi (Rex Takeshi), built from recycled wood panels with circular ring structures at the top representing the sun rising through mountain mist.
The main lantern show runs approximately 3 minutes per cycle, with performances every half hour starting from the official 7 PM opening. The combination of sound, projection, and fog effects is legitimately impressive — though I’d suggest watching the second or third cycle rather than the first, when the crowd density in front of the main stage is at its worst.
Mario in the Rice Paddies
The surprise addition this year is a 2-hectare Super Mario ‘Starlight Carnival’ zone, a collaboration between the Chiayi County government and Nintendo. The area recreates classic game environments — question mark blocks, warp pipes, power-up mushrooms — using light installations and projection effects. Whether this appeals to you probably depends on how you feel about a Japanese video game character sharing space with traditional Chinese lantern craft, but the kids seem thrilled.
The county also produced a limited-edition Mario-themed ’? Block’ small lantern for distribution alongside the main festival’s small lantern, which this year features the tourism mascot Oh Bear (喔熊) riding a wooden horse, named ‘喔熊馬抵嘉’. Both are free but quantities are limited — check the official website for pickup locations and schedules.
Another notable zone is the TECH WORLD Pavilion, a recreation of Taiwan’s pavilion from the 2025 Osaka World Expo. Reservations opened on February 5 through Accupass, and slots filled up quickly. If you didn’t get one, there might be walk-in availability on quieter weekdays, but no guarantees.
The Quiet Zones Are Better
The 23 themed areas include the expected crowd-pleasers — LED tunnels, projection-mapped buildings, corporate-sponsored installations — but the sections worth seeking out are the less flashy ones. The Tsou Indigenous Legend Zone (鄒族傳說燈區) tells stories from the indigenous Tsou people of the Alishan region through light and shadow. The National Lantern Competition area, where schools and community groups submit hand-built lanterns, has the kind of rough, handmade charm that the professional installations can’t replicate.
There’s also a traditional small lantern area that’s easy to miss because it’s tucked behind the main stage zones. This is where you’ll find the paper and silk lanterns with hand-painted scenes from folk tales — the kind of work that was the entire festival before it became a technology showcase.
Getting There Without Losing Your Mind
The festival’s biggest logistical advantage is location. Chiayi HSR station sits in Taibao City, which is also where the festival grounds are. Taipei to Chiayi by high-speed rail takes about 80 minutes. From the HSR station, free shuttle buses connect to the four exhibition areas. On paper, this is extremely convenient. In practice, the shuttle lines on weekends and the opening/closing nights can stretch to 30-40 minutes.
Driving is an option but parking is a headache. The official parking lots fill up early, and the overflow parking requires additional shuttle transfers. If you’re coming from Taipei for just the evening, the HSR is genuinely the better choice.
If you’re flying into Taiwan specifically for this, Taoyuan International Airport to Taipei Main Station (airport MRT, ~40 minutes) plus Taipei to Chiayi HSR (~80 minutes) puts you at the venue in about 2.5 hours, including transfers. Trip.com and KKday both sell HSR discount tickets for foreign passport holders — not a huge savings but worth the five minutes to check.
What About Pingxi?
The Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival in New Taipei City is a separate event that often gets bundled with the national lantern festival in travel articles. In 2026, Pingxi has two sessions: February 27 at Pingxi Junior High School, and March 3 (Lantern Festival night) at Shifen Square. Each session has 9 waves of sky lantern releases — 100 lanterns per wave at Pingxi, 150 per wave at Shifen.
Combining both events is doable but involves significant travel. Pingxi is in the mountains of northern Taiwan, about 90 minutes from Taipei by train and bus. Chiayi is in southern Taiwan, 80 minutes by HSR. You’d need to budget at least a full day of travel between them. If you only have time for one, it depends on what you want: Pingxi is intimate and participatory (you write wishes on your own lantern and release it), while the national festival in Chiayi is massive and spectacular but more of a viewing experience.
The Practical Stuff Nobody Puts First
Temperatures in early March in Chiayi hover around 16-24°C. Comfortable during the day, but evenings cool down fast when you’re standing still for lantern shows. A light jacket is necessary, not optional. Rain is possible — bring a compact umbrella.
Food options at the festival are extensive. Chiayi’s signature dish is turkey rice (火雞肉飯), which sounds underwhelming until you try it. The shredded turkey over rice with a drizzle of turkey jus is simple but genuinely good. Festival food courts are large but chaotic. Eating before 5:30 PM or after 9 PM avoids the worst of the lines.
For accommodation, Taibao City itself doesn’t have a lot of hotel options. Most visitors stay in Chiayi City (20 minutes away by taxi/bus) or book through the HSR discount packages. Booking.com has a decent selection of Chiayi City hotels, though prices spike during the festival — booking early is advisable.
Day Trips While You’re Here
Alishan National Scenic Area is the obvious side trip — sunrise over the sea of clouds, ancient cypress forests, and the narrow-gauge forest railway. It’s about 2 hours from Chiayi city by bus or car, and you’ll want to spend a full day or overnight. The road up is winding, and motion sickness medication isn’t a bad idea if you’re prone to it.
Closer to the festival grounds, the Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum (故宮南院) in Taibao is literally next to one of the exhibition areas. It houses rotating selections from the national collection with a focus on Asian art. It’s a solid way to spend a daytime before heading to the lantern festival in the evening.
The Wenhua Road Night Market in Chiayi City is worth a visit for food that’s both better and cheaper than the festival vendors. The stall turnover is high so specific recommendations go stale quickly, but the grilled squid and the papaya milk seem to be perennial fixtures.
Leaving at 10 PM
The festival closes at 10 PM nightly. The last HSR trains to Taipei depart around 10 PM, which means if you want to catch one, you need to leave the grounds by 9:15 at the latest to account for shuttle wait times. The alternative is staying overnight in Chiayi, which honestly isn’t a bad option — Chiayi city is pleasant in a low-key way that bigger Taiwanese cities aren’t.
On the walk back to the shuttle stop, someone in front of me was carrying three small lanterns — the Oh Bear, the Mario block, and a traditional one that looked like they’d bought at the night market. The kid next to them was already asleep on their shoulder. It was quarter to ten and the main lantern was still cycling through its fog-and-light routine behind us, but nobody was looking anymore. Everyone was just trying to find the right bus.
