Quick Answer: When Are the Pingxi Sky Lanterns?
The Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival (平溪天燈節, Píngxī Tiāndēng Jié) is a New Taipei City event tied to the Lantern Festival (元宵節, Yuánxiāo Jié), the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. The city can schedule more than one gathering, so check the date and venue for each one. [1][2]
- 2026 example: Pingxi Junior High School hosted the February 27 session. The March 3 session at Shifen Square in Shifen (十分, Shífēn) coincided with the Lantern Festival. [2][3]
- Local custom: People write wishes and blessings on paper sky lanterns (天燈, tiāndēng). [1][4]
- Place: Shifen is a locality within Pingxi District. [2][5]
The lunar date stays the same. The Gregorian date and the city’s event program vary by year. [1][2]
Families and groups at the Pingxi festival write their wishes on paper before the lanterns rise together. In a local story, the lights above the valley signaled that it was safe to return home. At the modern festival, inscriptions carry hopes for safety, health or a good year. [1][4]
The Lantern Festival Date and the City Program
The Lantern Festival falls on lunar month one, day 15. New Taipei City may hold a session on that day and another near it. In 2026, the February 27 session took place at Pingxi Junior High School. The session at Shifen Square followed on March 3, the Lantern Festival that year. [2][3]
The city’s two venue names refer to different gathering sites in the same district. Read the date, venue and time together in the city announcement, which lists each session separately. [2][3][5]
From a Signal of Safety to a Written Wish
One account retold by New Taipei City’s cultural affairs department places the tradition in the Qing period. Villagers who had hidden from raids could see a lantern signal when it was safe to return. Taiwan’s Ministry of the Interior records another explanation connecting early sky lanterns with prayers at the beginning of the spring planting season. These accounts preserve different memories of why the lanterns mattered. [1][4]
New Taipei City’s cultural guide also records the name Kongming lantern (孔明燈, Kǒngmíng dēng), associated with Zhuge Liang in popular tradition. In Pingxi today, a wish written on the paper turns the lantern into a message. The local stories connect that gesture with the safety of family and neighbors as well as hopes for the year. [1][4]
How Pingxi Hosts the Modern Festival
New Taipei City dates the organized festival to 1999. Its contemporary gatherings include designs commissioned for the year. In 2026 the city highlighted horse-shaped lanterns for the Year of the Horse alongside group gatherings at the two sites. This annual program gives the public festival a different visual theme while written wishes remain central to the custom. [1][2][6]
Lantern paper can fall back into the surrounding area. Pingxi’s municipal cleanup team has run collection and exchange programs for recovered paper. New Taipei City also regulates where and when sky lanterns may be released. The district’s September 2026 exchange took place months after the March festival, an example of cleanup continuing outside the festival season. [7][8]
FAQs About Pingxi Sky Lanterns
Are Pingxi and Shifen the same festival venue?
The city uses separate venue listings. Shifen is in Pingxi District, but in 2026 the Pingxi session was at Pingxi Junior High School and the Shifen session was at Shifen Square. [2][5]
Are all Lantern Festival lanterns sky lanterns?
Lantern Festival celebrations can feature displayed or carried lanterns. At Pingxi, the custom centers on paper sky lanterns bearing wishes. [1][3][4]
Источники
[1] Taiwan Ministry of the Interior. Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival
[2] New Taipei City Tourism and Travel Department. 2026 Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival
[3] New Taipei City Government. 2026 Lunar New Year Program
[4] New Taipei City Cultural Affairs Department. Pingxi Kongming Lantern Festival
[5] Pingxi District Office. Shifen Locality
[6] New Taipei City Government. History of the Modern Pingxi Festival
[7] New Taipei City Recycling Information Network. September 2026 Recycling Activities
[8] New Taipei City Fire Department. Management of Sky Lantern Releases