Year of the Snake|4 Must-see lantern festivals in Greater Bay Area

Editor︰Huang Yayan

The Year of the Snake is approaching, and the spring lantern festivals in the Greater Bay Area are gradually taking place, welcoming the Chinese Lunar New Year!

What are the characteristics of the Spring Festivals in Guangzhou and Shenzhen this year? How fantastic the snake lanterns are there? Any other surprising designs? Let's check out here for now!

Shenzhen: Greater Bay Area Super Lantern Festival 2025

The earliest lantern festival in the Greater Bay Area happened in this year is undoubtedly the "Greater Bay Area Super Lantern Festival 2025" at Shenzhen Happy Coast, taking place from December 13, 2024, to February 16, 2025.

Spanning Christmas, New Year's Eve, New Year, Lunar New Year, Valentine's Day, and the Lantern Festival, it is a renowned New Year lantern festival in Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area every year.

This Super Lantern Festival is featuring over 40 groups of intangible cultural heritage lanterns and covering an area of 2,000 square meters (approximately 20,000 square feet) firework show, extending from the beach to the seashore.

The number of lanterns and the scale of the firework show make it the most abundant, exciting, and beautiful festival in years!

The Greater Bay Area Super Lantern Festival 2025 welcomes visitors with a pair of lion dances at the entrance, creating a joyful atmosphere.
The long gallery with classic lanterns is the traditional view in ancient Chinese New Year.
Within the Greater Bay Area Super Lantern Festival, snake-shaped lanterns are icons for the Year of the Snake.
Last year's
Panda lanterns are adorable and eye-catching.

The Coconut Grove Beach in the Happy Coast is transforming into a sea of lights, showcases a variety of intangible cultural heritage themes through dazzling lanterns, creating light and shadow imagery that features the latest Chinese styles.

Being there, you will be impressed by the stunning visual experience. In addition to the lanterns, there are riddles, traditional performances, specialty snacks, and large-scale projections with music, bringing blessings for the Chinese New Year of the Snake. 

Shenzhen Happy Coast "Greater Bay Area Super Lantern Festival 2025"

Date: December 13, 2024, to February 16, 2025

Time: 5 pm - 10 pm

Location: Coconut Grove Beach, Happy Coast (No. 8 Baishi Road East, Nanshan District, Shenzhen)

Transport: Shenzhen Metro Line 9 "Shenzhen Bay Park Station", Exit E, approximately 4 minutes walk

Shenzhen: Wenbo Palace Lantern Festival  

Shenzhen Wenbo Palace is hosting its first "Wenbo Palace Colourful World and Intangible Cultural Heritage Festival 2025" this year, featuring 26 sets of massive lanterns across 30,000 square metres.

In terms of area, it is the largest New Year lantern festival in Shenzhen in this year.

The Wenbo Palace Lantern Festival boasts a variety of elements, from traditional lanterns to creative lighting, including nine-coloured deer-fox, celestial swan, flowing mountains and rivers, blue and white porcelain, and the twelve zodiac signs, offering a magnificent visual feast.

The giant lanterns include a variety of elements, including the Year of the Snake, traditional God of Wealth, the Golden Dragon, a sea of jellyfish lanterns, a lighted wheat field as well as water mist gate, and more. 

Shenzhen Wenbo Palace is a cultural creative industry park, where you can see a number of antiques, calligraphy, a jewellery trading centre and an art gallery.
Wenbo Palace boasts over 30 groups of intangible cultural heritage lanterns, with cute snake designs dotted around the park.
There are a lot of beautiful lanterns at Wenbo Palace.
Wenbo Palace is a great place for lantern viewing and shopping during the New Year period.

In addition, the venue features Hanfu parades, performances by intangible cultural heritage inheritors of fire dragon dancing, Sichuan opera face-changing legends, and more, celebrating the coming of Chinese New Year.

Shenzhen Wenbo Palace "Wenbo Palace Colourful World and Intangible Cultural Heritage Festival 2025"

Date: December 28, 2024, to February 23, 2025

Address: No. 88 Xihuan Road, Fenghuang Community, Buji Street, Longgang District, Shenzhen

Metro: Take Metro Line 5 to Changlong Station, exit at Exit A, and walk approximately 1.4 kilometres

Guangzhou: Yuexiu Park Lantern Festival

The Guangzhou Yuexiu Park Spring Festival Lantern Fair is a traditional event during the Spring Festival in Guangzhou, with a history of over 60 years.

This year, the "Guangzhou Spring Festival Lantern Fair 2025" will be held from January 16 to February 16, 2025. Currently, lanterns and giant installations have been gradually set in the park, getting ready for the new year to come.

The "Guangzhou Spring Festival Lantern Fair" held annually in Guangzhou Yuexiu Park is one of the most popular spots in Guangzhou during the Spring Festival.
The "Guangzhou Spring Festival Lantern Fair" held annually in Guangzhou Yuexiu Park is one of the most popular spots in Guangzhou during the Spring Festival. (Image Source: photography C.Lee)

In this year, the lantern fair connects ten major themed exhibition areas which create a rich and colorful lantern viewing route.

The main gate features a giant phoenix crown lantern set and a hundred-meter-long brocade belt, which is very eye-catching. Besides, there is a poetry avenue created with giant poetic scrolls at the North Gate, allowing you to explore ancient culture.

There are many Cantonese restaurants in the park, where you can try Chinese food as well.

Yuexiu Park "Guangzhou Spring Festival Lantern Fair 2025"

Date: January 16 to February 16, 2025

Location: Guangzhou Yuexiu Park

Transportation: Take Metro Line 2 to [Yuexiu Park Station], and walk out from Exit B1 to arrive

Guangzhou: Nansha Greater Bay Area Lantern Fair

In addition to the traditional Yuexiu Park Lantern Fair, Guangzhou will launch the largest Spring Festival lantern fair in its history this year, the "Greater Bay Area Lantern Fair" located in Nansha, which will grandly open on January 22.

The lantern fair is hosted by Guangzhou Nansha and is the largest "super lantern fair" in the history of the Greater Bay Area. It is launching on the same day as Beijing's "Jingcai Lantern Fair".

Guangzhou Nansha hosts the largest lantern fair in the history of the Greater Bay Area for the first time, making it highly anticipated.
Guangzhou Nansha hosts the largest lantern fair in the history of the Greater Bay Area for the first time, making it highly anticipated. (Image Source: Guangzhou News Network)

It is currently the longest, largest, and most lantern-laden "super lantern fair" in China, involving a lot of cities in China and is setting many national records.

Such lantern fair will be held for an extended period, from January 22 to March 30, a total of 68 days.

In terms of scale, the lantern fair combines two major intangible cultural heritage themes, under a lot of themes including "Shining China, Splendid Bay Area", integrating the "World Intangible Cultural Heritage" - Chinese Spring Festival, and the "National Intangible Cultural Heritage" - Zigong Lantern Festival in Sichuan.

It combines modern technology and light and shadow art to present the prosperous of the Greater Bay Area nowadays. The lantern fair connects multiple scenic areas in Nansha Bay, including Puzhou Garden, Tianhou Palace Scenic Area, and Binhai Park, making a main tour route as long as 3 kilometres long.

The fair incorporates elements from 11 cities in the Greater Bay Area and over a thousand intangible cultural heritage artists to do. 

This lantern fair is the most varied lantern fair in the history of the Greater Bay Area, featuring 218 sets of lantern scenes, 200,000 lantern decorations and over 2,000 specialty food items.

Moreover, there are more than 1,000 New Year merchandise, and over 1,000 performances, too. Although the lantern fair venue is still under construction, a series of rendered images have already been unveiled. The fair is highly anticipated.

The Greater Bay Area Lantern Fair to be held in Nansha, with massive lantern sets. The picture shown an ornament flower girl lantern which is one of the highlight in the Fair.
The Wukong lantern is another highlight that you must not miss in the Greater Bay Area Lantern Fair in Nansha, Guangzhou.

Greater Bay Area Lantern Fair 2025

Date: From January 22 to March 30

Location: Nansha Coastal Park (West Gate) and Puzhou Garden (Main Gate), Guangzhou

Transportation: Get off at "Nanheng Station" or "Nansha Passenger Port Station" on Guangzhou Metro Line 4

With the transportation in the Greater Bay Area becoming increasingly convenient, why not come here to celebrate the New Year lantern festival during the Spring Festival holiday?

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