By Zhen-Kang — 19 Feb 2025

Photos of the Taiwan Lantern Festival

The national lantern festival is held a different city each year. This time it was in Taoyuan…

The main lantern, a rotating infinity symbol featuring animated cobra. Photo: Zhen-Kang.

Taoyuan is best-known for its airport, Taipei–Taoyuan International, which served 45 million passengers in 2024.

For most foreign tourists, that’s the only reason to visit the city.

Until last weekend, it was true for me too (apart from that one time I stopped in Taoyuan for lunch and was told I have “beautiful blue eyes like glass balls”).

Things were calm when I arrived on Friday. But by the weekend, the Taoyuan Metro was overwhelmed as I—along with 2.6 million other people—tried to reach the festival grounds. The station nearest to the main stage served over 1 million passengers on Saturday, whereas it usually serves fewer than 1 million in an entire year.

Riding the MRT was an exercise in forced intimacy: at one stage, it was so crowded I literally could not move my arm. But even if I could’ve, there weren’t enough grab-handles anyway—so whenever the train abruptly changed speed, everyone was pushed forwards or back by a mass of people on all sides. I feared we were one jolt away from crushing or being crushed.

But I survived. So, on to the festival…

Lanterns are created by family or social groups, students, or workplaces. It’s an honor to be selected for display.

Common themes included Year of the Snake, folk legends, and Taoyuan International Airport. (Curiously though, no one was celebrating the Taoyuan Metro…)

Some of the 400 lanterns were spectacular.

Here are some pics:

Lantern in the shape of a Transformer-style robot.

Lantern in the shape of a traditional folk take character.

Lantern in the shape of two dolphins kissing.

Lantern in the shape of a flying superhero with 'T' and 'Y' (representing Taoyuan) on his shirt.

Lantern in the shape of a large snake, with indigenous warriors and other snakes around it.

Lantern in the shape of a Taiwanese Black Bear waving from a hot air balloon.

Lantern in the shape of two indigenous Taiwanese and small animals.

Lantern in the shape of a gorilla using a damaged chainsaw to cut wood, while surrounded by other animals.

Lantern in the shape of traditional folk characters.

Lantern in the shape of two folk characters in love, surrounded by snakes forming a heart shape.

Lantern in the shape of a snake driving a large robot suit.

Lantern in the shape of a monkey from Chinese folklore.

Lantern in the shape of two bucking fire animals.

Lantern in the shape of a standing folklore beast and a man, both holding fighting weapons.

Lantern in the shape of people dancing in a fire.

Lantern in the shape of three beckoning cats.

Lantern in the shape of a cartoon snake in a flower garden.

Lantern in the shape of a cartoon dog-like character wearing a cowboy hat.

Lantern in the shape of a peacock next to a golden pagoda.

Lantern in the shape of a folklore character holding gold ingots.

Lantern in the shape of three exquisitely-dressed people standing around a pagoda.

Lantern in the shape of a bird with outstretched wings, perched atop a branch.

Lantern in the shape of a large detailed dragon.

Lantern in the shape of a bird with outstretched wings, in a blossoming tree.

Lantern in the shape of a white snake with two arms, doing martial arts.

Lantern in the shape of four friendly snakes on lotus leaves in a pond.

Lantern in the shape of a friendly beckoning cat.

Lantern in the shape of a historic figure riding a horse.

Lantern in the shape of a 19th-Century gentleman holding a wooden staff and some red string.

Lantern in the shape of a cat playing an acoustic guitar.

Lantern in the shape of Pikachu atop a pink orb.

Lantern in the shape of a historic figure stroking his beard.

Lantern in the shape of numerous birds and other patterns, creating a two-to-three-story tall structure.

Lantern in the shape of a fluorescent snake in a magical tree.

Lanterns in the shape of a cartoon ferris wheel atop a small village, and a monster made of stone. A large crowd is watching.

Lantern in the shape of a baseball pitcher, number 36, standing atop an oversized baseball, wearing a 'Taiwan' baseball cap.

Lantern in the shape of a large dragon looking down on the crowd.

Hundreds of red and orange lanterns hanging from a pagoda, in a wave-like pattern.

Viewed through neon trees, the main lantern of the festival looks like a 3D infinity symbol. It is on a rotating stage, and covered in animated patterns of cobra, mountains, and sea.

A wide-angle shot of crowds of thousands of people surrounding the main lantern at the 2025 Taiwan Lantern Festival in Taoyuan.

An ophthalmologist on Sunday