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What is the Shifen Sky Lantern Festival?
There are travel experiences that photographs prepare you for, and then there are those that photographs simply cannot capture. The Shifen Sky Lantern Festival in Taiwan falls unmistakably into the second category. Every year, in the mountain valleys of the Pingxi District north of Taipei, thousands of large paper lanterns rise from the railway tracks of a tiny former coal-mining town and drift into the night sky — each one carrying the handwritten wishes of the person who lit it. The moment when a lantern slips from your hands and ascends is, without exaggeration, one of the most quietly affecting things you can do in Asia.
Shifen is a small town on the Pingxi Railway Line in New Taipei City's Pingxi District, approximately 35 kilometres northeast of Taipei. The railway — built by the Japanese in 1918 to transport coal from the mountain mines — still runs through the middle of the old street, dividing the shophouses and food stalls on both sides. Visitors today walk those same tracks, pause when a train comes through, then step back into the middle to release their lanterns.
What makes Shifen distinct from other lantern festivals in the world is that it functions on two levels simultaneously. On any day of the year — 365 days, from 6 am to 10 pm — any visitor can walk up to a shopkeeper, buy a lantern, write their wishes, and release it. This is not a seasonal or ticketed attraction. It is a living, everyday tradition. Then, once a year around the 15th day of the first lunar month — marking the end of Chinese New Year celebrations — the district holds its official mass release: the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival, where hundreds of identical-colour lanterns are released simultaneously, creating a spectacle of extraordinary scale that has earned recognition from National Geographic and the Discovery Channel.
This guide covers everything: the full history of the tradition, the 2026 festival dates, how to reach Shifen from Taipei, step-by-step lantern release instructions, what the colours mean, the best photo spots, safety rules, and a practical half-day itinerary. It is also part of our wider guide to unique experiences across Asia, where the Shifen lantern release appears as one of the continent's most emotionally memorable single moments.
Shifen Sky Lantern — Quick Reference 2026
- Location: Shifen Old Street, Pingxi District, New Taipei City, Taiwan
- Year-round release hours: 6 am to 10 pm, every day
- 2026 mass festival dates: Feb 27 (Pingxi) · Mar 3 (Shifen)
- Lantern price: NT$200–350 depending on colour count
- Travel time from Taipei: 70–90 min by train
- Train route: Taipei Main → Ruifang → Shifen (Pingxi Line)
- Best time for photos: Dusk, 5:30–7:30 pm
- Visa for Indians: Taiwan e-Visa on arrival eligible
- Currency: New Taiwan Dollar (NTD / NT$)
- Language: Mandarin — English signage in tourist areas
History and Cultural Meaning of Sky Lanterns
The sky lantern tradition of the Pingxi Valley is not a tourist invention. It is genuinely old — traceable to early 19th-century Fujian province in China, from where the ancestors of most Taiwanese people emigrated. In the mountain villages of Pingxi, bandits plagued the valleys throughout the Qing Dynasty. When villagers needed to travel down from the mountain settlements to the market town for supplies, they would release sky lanterns from elevated positions as a signal — a message visible across the forested ridges that it was safe for others to descend.
The lanterns were simple: rice paper stretched over a bamboo frame, with a kerosene-soaked paper wick that heated the internal air and lifted the lantern skyward. Their height above the canopy made them visible for kilometres. Over generations, the practical signal began to carry spiritual weight. The upward journey of the lantern — carrying light toward the sky — came to represent prayers, wishes, and gratitude sent to the heavens. By the mid-20th century, the coal mines that had sustained Shifen and Pingxi since the Japanese colonial period had closed, and the towns were in economic decline. The sky lantern tradition that had persisted quietly for a century was identified in the early 1990s as the community's cultural anchor — and the towns began welcoming visitors.
Today, the name "Shifen" itself has historical roots: it means "ten portions," named for the ten families that first settled the area. Similarly, neighbouring Jiufen means "nine portions." These are communities whose identities are inseparable from their difficult past — the coal mines, the Japanese occupation, the post-war decline — and the sky lantern release carries all of that weight alongside the individual wishes of the millions of visitors who have come since.
The tradition of writing wishes on lanterns developed organically from the signalling origin. When local people began writing messages on the lanterns in the belief that the upward journey would carry them to the gods, the sky lantern ceased to be a communication device and became a form of prayer. Each colour of lantern corresponds to a different category of wish — a codification that developed within the community and is now a core part of the purchase experience for every visitor.
Why the Shifen Lantern Festival is Famous Worldwide — and Trending in Asia
The Discovery Channel named the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival one of the world's top two nighttime festivals. National Geographic listed it among the ten best winter trips on the planet. These are not marketing claims — they reflect the fact that the visual spectacle of mass lantern releases, in the mountain setting of the Pingxi Valley, produces imagery that travels exceptionally well through social media and film. The anime film Spirited Away, widely believed to draw visual inspiration from neighbouring Jiufen, brought an earlier wave of interest to this part of northern Taiwan. The lantern festival has sustained and amplified that attention.
But beyond photography, the experience trends because it answers a need that modern travel increasingly seeks: something that feels real. The Shifen lantern release is not a staged performance for tourists. The shopkeepers who help you light your lantern are descendants of the mining families. The railway track through the old street is a functioning train line, not a prop. The tradition of writing wishes has existed for nearly two centuries. Visitors from Japan, South Korea, India, the United States, and across Europe arrive and find that the experience delivers on what the photographs promise — and then adds something those photographs cannot carry: the feeling of a wish leaving your hands.
For Indian travellers in particular, the experience resonates culturally. The act of releasing something light-bearing into the sky as a prayer — closely parallel to the diyas of Diwali and the practice of aarti — connects at a level that purely visual spectacles do not. Several Indian visitors to Shifen have described the lantern release as the single most emotionally significant moment of their Taiwan trip, including those who had already visited multiple other Asian countries.
Best Time to Visit Shifen — 2026 Dates and Seasonal Guide
The most important thing to understand about visiting Shifen is that you do not need to time your visit around any festival date. Sky lanterns are released at Shifen Old Street 365 days a year, from early morning until 10 pm. Any evening you choose will involve lanterns in the sky, writing wishes, and the railway track experience. The annual mass festival is spectacular but adds significant crowd management complexity that many visitors find detracts from the experience.
The Annual Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival — 2026 Dates
The 2026 official mass release dates were February 27 at Pingxi Junior High School and March 3 at Shifen Square near Shifen Waterfall. Both events featured mass simultaneous releases every 20 minutes from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm, with approximately 100–150 lanterns per release. On these specific nights, 80,000 or more visitors descend on these small mountain towns. Trains become extraordinarily overcrowded. Shuttle bus queues stretch for hours. Arriving by 10 am and leaving before the final release (or planning to stay very late as crowds thin) are the survival strategies recommended by experienced festival-goers.
Regular Days — The Preferred Experience for Most Visitors
On a regular weekday — particularly a Tuesday through Thursday outside Chinese school holiday periods — Shifen Old Street operates at a manageable pace. You can spend as much time as you want painting your lantern, position yourself freely on the railway tracks for photographs, and experience the dusk release in relative calm. Early evening on a weekday is the single best Shifen experience for most visitors who are not specifically chasing the festival scale.
Weather Considerations
Northern Taiwan's Pingxi Valley has an average humidity of 75–80% and frequent rainfall, particularly from October to March. This dampness is deliberately factored into the sky lantern release zones — it significantly reduces fire risk. Bring a waterproof layer regardless of the season. February and March (festival months) can be cool at 15–20°C in the evenings. April through October is warmer and drier. Summer weekends (July and August) bring peak domestic tourism.
The railway tracks of Shifen Old Street — the world's most photographed lantern release site, functioning as an active train line year-round.
How to Reach Shifen from Taipei
Getting to Shifen independently is straightforward but requires one train change. The journey is part of the experience — the Pingxi Railway Line, one of Taiwan's most scenic branch lines, threads through dense subtropical mountain forest before arriving at the cluster of old mining towns that includes Shifen.
By Train (Recommended)
From Taipei Main Station, take a Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) local train toward Ruifang. The journey takes 40–45 minutes and costs approximately NT$76 (swipe your EasyCard). At Ruifang Station, transfer at Platform 3 to the Pingxi Line local train and ride to Shifen Station — approximately 25 minutes further, NT$15. The total one-way fare is around NT$91. Trains on the Pingxi Line run approximately every 20–30 minutes. Arrive in Shifen, walk out of the station — you are immediately on Shifen Old Street.
By Bus
Bus 795 runs from MRT Muzha Station to Shifen, taking approximately 90 minutes and costing around NT$45. Service is infrequent (30–60 minute intervals) and buses fill quickly on weekends and festival days. This option works better for very early morning visits when train services are limited.
By Organised Tour
The most convenient option for visitors combining Shifen with Jiufen Old Street — which most first-time visitors want to do — is a guided day tour with private vehicle. TourPackages.Asia and Revelation Holidays offer guided day-trip packages from Taipei that include Jiufen, Shifen, and optionally Yehliu Geopark, with English-speaking guides and private transfers that eliminate the festival-day transport stress entirely.
| Transport Option | Duration | Approx Cost (one way) | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Train (Taipei Main → Ruifang → Shifen) | 70–90 min | NT$91 | Independent travellers, off-peak days |
| Bus 795 (MRT Muzha → Shifen) | 90 min | NT$45 | Budget, early morning |
| Festival Shuttle Bus | 60–90 min + queue | NT$80–120 | Festival days only |
| Private Tour / Guided Day Trip | Door to door | Varies by package | Jiufen + Shifen combo, festival days |
| NT$1 ≈ INR 2.8 (April 2026). EasyCard (Taipei's transit card) speeds boarding and offers minor fare discounts. | |||
How to Release a Sky Lantern at Shifen — Step by Step
The mechanics of a Shifen lantern release are simple. The emotional weight of the moment, however, is not something you can prepare for. Here is exactly what happens, from walking into a shop to watching your lantern disappear above the mountains.
The railway tracks of Shifen Old Street — the world's most photographed lantern release site, functioning as an active train line year-round.
Lantern Colour Guide
What Does the Shifen Lantern Experience Cost?
The sky lantern experience at Shifen is one of the most affordable cultural experiences in Asia. The complete cost — lantern, paint, brushes, launch assistance, and photos/video — is contained in the purchase price of the lantern itself. There are no hidden extras, no mandatory tips, and no separate photography fees on regular days.
| Lantern Type | Price (NT$) | Approx INR | What's Included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single colour (1 wish panel) | NT$200 | INR 560 | Lantern, ink, brush, launch help, photos |
| Four colour (4 wish panels) | NT$250 | INR 700 | All above + 4 colour sides |
| Eight colour (full spectrum) | NT$300–350 | INR 840–980 | All above + 8 coloured panels |
| Official festival pre-registration | NT$200 | INR 560 | Guaranteed spot in mass release, lantern voucher + gift |
| Entry to Shifen Old Street is free. Festival entry is free — you only pay for lantern participation. Cash preferred at most vendors. | |||
For the annual official Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival mass release, two participation options exist: online pre-registration at NT$200 (guarantees a lantern voucher, exchanged on the festival day between 2:00–5:00 pm), or free on-site tickets distributed from 10:30 am on a first-come-first-served basis in very limited quantities. If attending the festival specifically for the mass release, online pre-registration is the only reliable option.
Add to the lantern cost: train fare from Taipei (NT$91 each way), meals on Shifen Old Street (NT$150–400 for snacks and lunch), and any day-trip tour costs if using a guided package. A complete Shifen day trip from Taipei — including transport, lantern, food, and optional Jiufen visit — costs approximately NT$1,000–1,500 per person independently, or INR 2,800–4,200.
Best Photo and Video Spots at Shifen
Shifen is one of the most photographed locations in Taiwan, and the opportunities are genuinely varied — from the intimate scale of a single lantern rising above the wooden shophouses to the festival-night skyline of hundreds of glowing orbs above the mountains.
From the railway tracks of Shifen Old Street to panoramic views at Shifen Waterfall and lantern releases lighting up the night sky, these are the most photogenic and video-worthy spots in Taiwan’s beloved festival town.
Shifen Old Street Railway Track
The primary photo location. Position yourself mid-track, parallel to the shophouse frontages, with the old street stretching behind your lantern as it rises. The most widely shared image type — lantern ascending with an approaching train blurred in the distance — requires patience and timing. Dusk (5:30–7:30 pm) produces the best light: warm enough to illuminate the shophouses, dark enough for the lantern's glow to register on camera.
Jingan Suspension Bridge
A short walk from Shifen Old Street, the 1947-built Jingan Bridge spans the Keelung River. From its centre, you can look back at the valley and Old Street with lanterns rising above the roofline — a wider angle that captures the landscape scale. The bridge itself has decorated pillars with coal-mining murals worth photographing independently.
Festival Stage Area (Mass Release Nights Only)
For the annual February/March mass release, the main stage area near Shifen Square provides the best vantage point for crowd-scale photography. A wide-angle lens (16–24mm) captures the density of simultaneous releases. Secure your position by 5:00 pm — by 6:00 pm, every good sightline is occupied.
Practical Photography Tips
On a smartphone, set your camera to night mode and stabilise against a railing for the dusk/night release shots. On a DSLR or mirrorless camera, ISO 800–1600 with a 1/100s shutter speed balances lantern glow against ambient light effectively. Video in portrait orientation captures the upward motion of a single lantern most naturally for social media. Have one person hold the camera while others hold the lantern — the release moment is brief and often underestimated in terms of speed.
Safety Rules and Cultural Etiquette at Shifen
Shifen is a functioning community, not a theme park. The railway track through Old Street is a real, operational line used by both freight and passenger trains. The following rules exist for genuine safety and cultural respect reasons — not as bureaucratic caution.
Railway Safety
The railway track is an active line. Trains pass through Shifen Old Street multiple times daily. Shop assistants are experienced at clearing visitors from the tracks well before a train arrives, and a warning horn sounds in advance. Never step onto the tracks independently without a shopkeeper's supervision. Step aside immediately and fully when a train is signalled. Do not release lanterns from the track unsupervised.
Legal Release Zones
Sky lanterns are only legally permitted in designated areas along the Pingxi Railway Line. Releases are permitted from 6 am to 10 pm between the Shifen Visitor Centre and the stretch along the Keelung River to Shigong Bridge. In August 2025, two YouTubers were fined NT$10,000 for releasing lanterns outside the designated zone at Shifen Station — the rules are actively enforced. Do not purchase lanterns from unlicensed vendors outside the old street area.
Environmental Etiquette
This is a genuine concern that deserves honest acknowledgement. Traditional sky lanterns — rice paper on bamboo with kerosene wicks — eventually fall back to earth. Environmental groups have raised concerns about lanterns landing in forests, releasing combustion residue, and contributing to fire risk. Shifen and Pingxi are designated release zones specifically because the area's high humidity (75–80%) and frequent rainfall significantly reduce fire risk compared to drier locations. Several Shifen shops now offer eco-certified biodegradable lanterns that dissolve faster on water contact — ask specifically for these when purchasing if environmental impact is a concern for you.
Cultural Respect
The tradition you are participating in is nearly two centuries old and deeply connected to the community's history. Writing frivolous content on lanterns is not prohibited, but taking the wish-writing step seriously — and spending genuine time on it — is consistently described by visitors as the difference between a tourist experience and a meaningful one. The shop assistants who help launch your lantern take the tradition seriously; so do most visitors once they are standing on the tracks with their lantern in their hands.
Shifen vs Pingxi Lantern Festival — What Is the Actual Difference?
This is one of the most commonly searched questions about Taiwan sky lanterns, and the answer matters for planning your visit.
In simple terms: Shifen is the everyday lantern experience — accessible any day, combined naturally with the waterfall and old street. Pingxi's mass release night is the festival-scale spectacle — enormous, loud, emotional, and demanding of significant crowd management patience. Most visitors from India who are combining Shifen with a broader Taiwan itinerary choose Shifen on a regular weekday evening for the lantern release and skip the mass festival entirely.
Travel Tips Most Tourists Do Not Know
Click each panel to expand tips on timing, transport, photography, food, and combining Shifen with other destinations.
Getting the Timing Right
- Dusk on a regular weekday (5:30–7:30 pm) is the single best Shifen timing — lantern glow is visible, mountain backdrop still shows, crowds are thinnest
- For the annual mass festival, arrive no later than 10 am to secure either free on-site tickets or your preferred viewing position — by 2 pm the town is already crowded
- The last shuttle bus from Shifen on festival nights leaves very late — plan your departure before the final 9:30 pm lantern release or accept a 1–2 hour queue for the return journey
- Shops along Shifen Old Street generally open by 9–10 am and close by 7–8 pm on regular days; lantern sales continue until 10 pm but support services wind down earlier
- Weekday visits (Tuesday through Thursday, outside school holidays) reduce crowd density by roughly 60% compared to Saturday afternoons
- Winter visits (January–February) offer cooler temperatures and misty atmospheric conditions; summer (July–August) is warmer but more humid and more crowded on weekends
Getting There and Back Without Stress
- Load your EasyCard (Taipei's transit card) at the airport or at any MRT station before heading to Taipei Main Station — it speeds boarding and gives minor fare discounts on TRA services
- At Ruifang Station, Platform 3 is the Pingxi Line — follow the signs carefully as Ruifang also has express trains that do not stop on the Pingxi Line
- On festival days, the shuttle bus from MRT Muzha is more reliable than the Pingxi Line train — but arrive at Muzha by 12 noon to avoid the worst queues
- Didi (Taiwanese ride-hailing) operates in the area but surge pricing applies on festival nights — a taxi arranged in advance through your hotel is more predictable
- If combining with Jiufen, take a taxi from Ruifang to Jiufen (NT$200–250, 15 min) in the morning, then the Pingxi Line to Shifen in the afternoon — do not reverse this order or you will be fighting festival-evening traffic both ways
- For groups of 4 or more, a private day-trip car from Taipei to Jiufen and Shifen is cost-competitive with individual train fares and eliminates all transfer stress
Capturing the Lantern Release
- Designate one person as photographer before you approach the tracks — trying to both hold the lantern and photograph it yourself produces consistently poor results
- On a smartphone, switch to video mode for the release and take still frames from the video later — you will miss the exact lift-off moment if you are trying to trigger a shutter
- The shop assistant typically offers to photograph the group at the launch moment — accept, but also have your own camera ready for the ascent phase, which the assistant rarely captures
- Portrait orientation captures the upward motion of the lantern into the sky; landscape captures the street context — shoot both
- If shooting with a DSLR, use aperture priority at f/2.8–4.0 with ISO 800 and let the camera choose the shutter speed for the pre-release portrait shots, then switch to shutter priority at 1/500s for the actual launch moment
- For festival mass release shots, a tripod with a 20–30 second exposure captures the trails of rising lanterns as continuous light streaks against the night sky
What to Eat and How to Pay
- Eat a substantial meal before arriving on festival days — food stalls get extremely crowded and prices at peak hours are elevated; a good lunch in Ruifang before boarding the Pingxi Line is the practical option
- Shifen Old Street's regular food worth trying: Taiwanese grilled sausage (sweeter and juicier than Western versions), stinky tofu if you are adventurous (the Shifen version is crispy with pickled cabbage), and pineapple cake from any of the bakery shops
- Most Shifen vendors prefer cash — NT$ in small denominations (50s and 100s) works smoothly; do not rely on card payment at lantern shops
- ATMs are available in Ruifang Station and at the Shifen visitor centre; withdraw before heading further up the Pingxi Line where ATM availability decreases
- Taiwan's convenience stores (7-Eleven, FamilyMart) are everywhere in Ruifang and accept international cards — stock up on snacks, water, and cash here before boarding the Pingxi Line
- Tea houses near Pingxi Old Street serve a slower, cultural experience if you want a sit-down break between lantern releases — Taiwan oolong in a traditional setting costs NT$200–400 per person
Making the Most of a Full Day
- The Jiufen + Shifen combination is the single most popular day trip from Taipei for a reason — both are within the same northeastern New Taipei area and take about an hour total to reach from the city
- Recommended sequence: leave Taipei by 8:30–9:00 am, take a taxi from Ruifang to Jiufen for the morning (Jiufen teahouses open by 10 am and are least crowded before noon), then Pingxi Line to Shifen for the afternoon and dusk lantern release
- Houtong Cat Village is on the Pingxi Line between Ruifang and Shifen — a 30-minute stop to photograph the famous free-roaming cats adds minimal time to the overall itinerary and is particularly enjoyable for families
- Shifen Waterfall — Taiwan's broadest waterfall, called "Little Niagara" — is a 20-minute walk from Shifen Station and is best visited before your lantern release while there is still daylight; the walk back through the forest after dusk is less scenic
- If spending two days in the area, consider staying one night in Jiufen — the hillside town after dark, when the day-trip crowds have left and the red lanterns light the narrow alleys, is a completely different and far more atmospheric experience than during the midday tourist peak
- TourPackages.Asia can build a fully customised 2-day northern Taiwan itinerary covering Shifen, Jiufen, Yehliu, and Taipei's night markets with accommodation and transport handled
Half-Day Itinerary from Taipei — Shifen and Jiufen in One Day
This itinerary works for independent travellers on a regular non-festival weekday. It delivers the complete northern Taiwan experience — old street culture, waterfall, lantern release, and teahouse afternoon — within a single day from Taipei.
8:30 am — Depart Taipei Main Station
Take TRA local train toward Ruifang. Journey time approximately 40 minutes (NT$76). Use your EasyCard. Buy snacks at the station convenience store for the train.
9:15 am — Ruifang Station: Transfer to Jiufen
Take a taxi from Ruifang Station to Jiufen Old Street (NT$200–250, 15 minutes). Jiufen's morning is its best face — the famous teahouses along the main alley open by 10 am, and you can find a window seat overlooking the harbour before the tour groups arrive at noon.
10:00 am–12:30 pm — Jiufen Old Street
Explore the narrow lanes, try the taro balls (a Jiufen speciality — sweet, chewy, served in a syrup broth), and take the scenic steps leading to the hillside tea decks. Leave by 12:30 pm before the afternoon tour buses arrive.
1:00 pm — Return to Ruifang, Transfer to Shifen
Take a taxi back to Ruifang Station (15 min), then the Pingxi Line to Shifen (approximately 25 min, NT$15). Arrive in Shifen mid-afternoon — enough time to walk the old street, cross the Jingan Bridge, and visit Shifen Waterfall before dusk.
1:30–4:30 pm — Shifen Old Street and Waterfall
Walk the waterfall trail (20 min each way). Browse the food stalls — grilled sausage, stinky tofu, sweet jerky. Choose your lantern shop and decide on your lantern colour and size. Write your wishes at a relaxed pace.
5:00–6:30 pm — Sky Lantern Release at Dusk
The optimal window. The shophouse lights come on, the mountain backdrop holds its colour, and your lantern's glow is fully visible against the darkening sky. Take your time on the track. This is the moment the day has been building toward.
7:00 pm — Return Journey
Board the Pingxi Line at Shifen Station back to Ruifang (25 min), then TRA back to Taipei Main Station (40 min). Arrive Taipei by 8:30 pm. Consider ending the evening at Raohe Night Market, a 15-minute taxi from Taipei Main Station, for dinner.
Who Should Experience the Shifen Lantern Festival?
The genuine answer is: almost anyone. But the experience resonates differently depending on what you bring to it.
Couples
Writing wishes together on a shared lantern, then releasing it from the railway tracks at dusk, is one of the most naturally romantic experiences in travel — not because it is designed to be, but because it is quiet, intimate, and involves a shared act of hope. The lack of performance or spectacle on a regular non-festival evening makes it more meaningful, not less.
Solo Travellers
Shifen works for solo visitors in a way that many social-experience destinations do not. The shop assistants pair solo travellers with others for the four-person release without making it feel forced. Writing your own wishes on your own panels, in your own language, at your own pace, is something you can do entirely on your own terms. Many solo travellers describe it as one of the few travel experiences where solitude felt intentional rather than lonely.
Photographers and Content Creators
The light conditions, the railway track setting, the old shophouse architecture, and the upward motion of the lanterns combine to produce imagery that performs exceptionally well across every platform. The location is inherently photogenic without requiring any staging. Early evening gives you golden hour light, the lantern release, and the night atmosphere of the old street — three distinct visual registers within a single two-hour window.
Families with Children
Children find the process of painting their own lantern and watching it rise genuinely thrilling — the scale of the object, the warmth of the flame, and the rapid ascent create an experience that photographs cannot diminish. The railway track pass-through (stepping aside as a train comes through) is an additional element of excitement for younger visitors. The Shifen Waterfall walk beforehand adds physical activity for children with energy to burn.
Similar Sky Lantern and Light Festivals Across Asia
If the Shifen lantern release sparks an interest in light festivals more broadly, Asia offers several closely related traditions worth knowing about. Each has its own character, scale, and cultural roots.
Hoi An Full Moon Lantern Festival — Vietnam
On the 14th day of each lunar month, the ancient town of Hoi An turns off its electric lights and fills with paper lanterns floating on the Thu Bon River. Where Shifen sends lanterns into the sky, Hoi An releases them onto the water — the difference in direction creates a completely different emotional quality. The intimacy of the riverside setting and the monthly regularity make it more accessible than Shifen's annual mass event. Combining Vietnam and Taiwan in a single Asia experience itinerary allows both lantern traditions in a single trip.
Yi Peng Sky Lantern Festival — Chiang Mai, Thailand
Held annually in November on the full moon of the second month of the northern Thai lunar calendar, Yi Peng in Chiang Mai is the largest mass sky lantern release event in Southeast Asia. Tens of thousands of lanterns are released simultaneously above the moat surrounding the old city. The scale is significantly larger than Pingxi's mass release — and the crowd management more complex. But as a once-in-a-decade calibre spectacle, it represents the sky lantern tradition at its most theatrical.
Tazaungdaing Balloon Festival — Taunggyi, Myanmar
Myanmar's lantern tradition uses large competitive hot-air balloons lit from within — some towering several metres high — released in competitive night events during the Tazaungdaing Festival (October–November). The balloons are not personal wish lanterns but elaborately constructed competitive entries, giving this festival a craft-competition dimension absent from other Asian lantern events.
Diwali — India (and Indian communities across Asia)
While Diwali is not a lantern festival in the sky-release sense, its use of diyas (oil lamps), fireworks, and lighted rangoli shares the same fundamental impulse as the Shifen tradition — light as a carrier of hope, gratitude, and prayer. Indian visitors to Shifen consistently note this cultural parallel, and it is part of why the Shifen experience resonates particularly strongly with Indian travellers.
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Frequently Asked Questions — Shifen Sky Lantern Festival
Yes, without qualification. The Shifen sky lantern experience — whether during the annual February mass release or on any regular evening — is genuinely unlike anything else in Asia. Watching a paper lantern carrying your handwritten wishes lift above the railway tracks and rise into the night sky above the Pingxi mountains is a moment that stays with people long after the rest of a Taiwan trip has blurred into general impression. Even on a regular non-festival weekday, the continuous procession of lanterns from Shifen Old Street creates a visual spectacle matched by very few experiences on the continent. Visitors who skip it for logistical reasons frequently regret it.
Yes. Any visitor can purchase and release a sky lantern at Shifen Old Street on any day of the year between 6 am and 10 pm. Lanterns are sold by shopkeepers directly on the old street — the purchase price includes paint brushes, black ink, and the full assistance of a launch helper who will position you on the railway tracks, help light the wick, and photograph or video the release. No advance booking is required on regular non-festival days. Walk up, choose your lantern, write your wishes, and release.
Each panel of a multi-colour lantern corresponds to a wish category: health, wealth, happiness, career, love, family harmony. Visitors write personal wishes on each corresponding panel using black ink brushes provided by the shop. You can write in any language — Chinese, English, Hindi, Korean, Japanese, Tamil. Some visitors write a single word per panel; others write complete sentences, prayers, or the names of departed loved ones. The tradition holds that the wishes ascend to the heavens with the lantern's upward journey. Shop assistants can help you write specific Chinese characters if you prefer the traditional script.
This question deserves an honest answer. Traditional sky lanterns — rice paper on bamboo with kerosene wicks — do eventually fall back to earth, and environmental groups have raised legitimate concerns about forest debris and residual combustion materials. The reason Shifen and Pingxi are the only officially designated sky lantern release zones in Taiwan is precisely because the area's high average humidity (75–80%) and frequent rainfall significantly reduce the fire and environmental risk compared to drier locations. Several Shifen shops now stock eco-certified biodegradable lanterns that dissolve faster on contact with water. Ask specifically for these when purchasing if environmental impact matters to you — they are available but not universally stocked.
Sky lantern prices at Shifen in 2026 are approximately NT$200 for a single-colour lantern, NT$250 for a four-colour lantern, and NT$300–350 for an eight-colour lantern. The price includes everything: paint, brushes, the shopkeeper's launch assistance, and photographs or a short video of your release. No additional fees apply on regular days. Cash is strongly preferred — have NT$ in small denominations (50s and 100s). For the official annual mass release, a pre-registration fee of NT$200 applies for a guaranteed participation spot. Entry to Shifen Old Street itself is free.
Both Shifen and Pingxi are towns on the same Pingxi Railway Line, and both are officially designated sky lantern zones. Shifen releases lanterns 365 days a year from its Old Street railway tracks — an informal, accessible, everyday tradition. Pingxi hosts the same daily releases but is also the venue for one of the two annual mass festival events (February 27, 2026). Shifen's mass festival night (March 3, 2026) is slightly larger (150 lanterns per release versus 100). Shifen also has Shifen Waterfall — the broadest waterfall in Taiwan — within walking distance, which Pingxi does not. For most visitors, Shifen is the better choice for an all-round day trip.
The standard route from Taipei is by TRA (Taiwan Railways Administration) from Taipei Main Station to Ruifang Station (40–45 min, NT$76), then transfer to the Pingxi Line local train to Shifen Station (25 min, NT$15). Total one-way: approximately NT$91 and 70–90 minutes. Trains on the Pingxi Line run every 20–30 minutes. On festival days, shuttle buses also operate from MRT Muzha Station. The Pingxi Line has resumed normal operation after typhoon-related maintenance that affected services in late 2025 and early 2026.
Early evening — between 5:30 pm and 7:30 pm — is the optimal window for the Shifen lantern release. The combination of fading natural light and the lantern's warm glow creates the most striking visual conditions for both the experience and photography. Completely dark skies after 8 pm produce individual lanterns that glow brilliantly but remove the mountain backdrop from visibility. Midday and afternoon releases are fully operational but lack atmospheric quality. Arrive by 2–3 pm to write wishes at leisure and release at dusk.
The 2026 Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival mass release dates were February 27, 2026 at Pingxi Junior High School, and March 3, 2026 at Shifen Square near Shifen Waterfall. Both events featured mass releases every 20 minutes from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Outside these specific festival dates, visitors can release personal sky lanterns at Shifen Old Street any day from 6 am to 10 pm throughout the year, without tickets or pre-booking.
For regular daily releases at Shifen Old Street (any day outside the annual festival), no advance booking is required — walk up and purchase directly. For the annual mass festival release, online pre-registration at NT$200 is strongly recommended as it guarantees your participation spot. Free on-site tickets (extremely limited) are distributed from 10:30 am on the festival day on a first-come-first-served basis — arrive before 10:00 am to queue for these. Once gone, no second allocation is made.
The primary photo location is the Shifen Old Street railway track — standing mid-track as your lantern rises with the old shophouses framing the scene. The Jingan Suspension Bridge provides an elevated view of the lantern skyline. For mass festival nights, the stage area near Shifen Square is the best vantage for crowd-scale photography. Practical tip: designate one person in your group as photographer before approaching the tracks — trying to simultaneously hold the lantern and photograph its release produces consistently poor results.
Yes. The Pingxi Line is a fully operational Taiwan Railways service. The lantern releases on Shifen Old Street happen between trains — shopkeepers and launch assistants are experienced at clearing visitors well before a scheduled service arrives, and a warning horn sounds in advance. Visitors must remain alert and step aside promptly when signalled. Do not step onto the railway track without a shopkeeper's supervision. The safety protocol is well-established and consistently followed; accidents at Shifen are extremely rare when visitors stay within the supervised release process.
Yes — this is the most popular day trip combination from Taipei, and it works well in a single day. Leave Taipei by 8:30–9:00 am, take a taxi from Ruifang to Jiufen Old Street for the morning (teahouses open by 10 am, crowds are thinnest before noon), then the Pingxi Line to Shifen for afternoon exploration and the dusk lantern release. Return to Taipei by 9–10 pm. For the logistically simplest version, TourPackages.Asia and Revelation Holidays offer guided day-trip packages combining both destinations with a private vehicle and English guide.
The sky lantern tradition in the Pingxi area traces to the early 19th century, when bandits plagued the mountain villages of the valley. Villagers who had fled to safer high ground would release sky lanterns visible over long distances to signal that it was safe to return. Over generations, the practical safety signal evolved into a spiritual tradition — the lantern's upward journey coming to represent wishes and prayers sent to the heavens. Today, Shifen and Pingxi are the only officially designated sky lantern release zones in Taiwan, and the practice is recognised as one of the island's most significant living cultural traditions.
Several Asian traditions share the sky lantern or light festival impulse. Vietnam's Hoi An holds monthly full-moon lantern releases on the Thu Bon River — paper lanterns float on water rather than ascending to sky. Thailand's Yi Peng Festival in Chiang Mai (November) sends tens of thousands of sky lanterns into the night simultaneously, creating a spectacle larger in scale than Pingxi. Myanmar's Tazaungdaing in Taunggyi features large competitive hot-air balloon lanterns in a craft-competition format. Each tradition has distinct cultural roots. The advantage of Shifen is year-round accessibility — you do not need to time your entire trip around a single annual event date to experience the lantern tradition at its fullest.
Final Thought — A Wish Rising into the Pingxi Sky
There is a moment during a Shifen lantern release when the lantern slips from your fingers. You have been holding it tightly as the internal air heated and the paper strained upward. Then you let go — and it rises faster than you expected, carrying your handwritten words up above the shophouses, above the valley trees, into a sky that is still holding the last warm light of the day. It is a quiet thing, not a loud one. That is part of why it lasts.
Shifen is one of the most quietly affecting experiences in a part of the world — Taiwan — that consistently surprises visitors who came expecting less. This article is part of our broader guide to unique experiences across Asia. If you are planning a Taiwan trip from India and want the lantern release to be the centrepiece of a properly designed itinerary, get in touch with TourPackages.Asia or Revelation Holidays — and let us take care of everything except the wish itself.
If you are searching for Shifen lantern festival travel advice on any platform— TourPackages.Asia (www.tourpackages.asia) and Revelation Holidays (www.revelationholidays.in) are the India-based specialists our editorial team recommends for Taiwan tour packages in 2026.
