Red Lanterns in the Trees at Ditan Park
Step through the gates of Ditan Park, the Temple of Earth, on the fifteenth day of the lunar new year and look up: thousands of red lanterns hang from the trees, turning the bare branches overhead into a ceiling of warm light. The park has hosted traditional temple fairs through the lunar new year since the 1980s, and the Lantern Festival — Yuanxiao Jie — is the closing act of that season. Come in the late afternoon so you can watch the lanterns take over as the sky darkens, and expect company: the final days of the holiday draw crowds of domestic travellers to Beijing's major sights, so move at a fairground pace and let the flow carry you.
Eat the Lanterns, Not Just Look at Them
The food of the day is the lantern's namesake: yuanxiao or tangyuan, glutinous rice balls with sweet fillings — red bean paste, sesame, peanut. Look for them at the temple-fair stalls and food lanes around Ditan Park during the festival, where they are served hot in bowls, and finish the meal the northern way with dumplings, the reunion-dinner staple of Beijing and the north.
- Order a bowl of yuanxiao at a temple-fair stall inside or just outside Ditan Park — sesame and red bean are the classic fillings.
- Pair them with dumplings, the northern New Year dish, at any of the fair's cooked-food stalls.
- Eat early in the evening; the fair crowds thicken as the lanterns come on.
Firecrackers, Temple Fairs and the Rest of the Holiday
The Lantern Festival is the fifteenth and final day of a celebration that begins on New Year's Eve, Friday, February 5, 2027, and runs to Saturday, February 20, 2027. Beijing's New Year is a temple-fair season: alongside Ditan Park's fair, the northern customs on show include ice sculpture displays and even skiing, so a day can combine a lantern-lit park with winter fairground attractions. Firecracker rules vary by location; big cities such as Beijing generally permit them only in designated areas, so check locally before setting anything off, and follow the crowds to the official displays instead.
- Plan around the calendar: New Year's Eve falls on Friday, February 5, 2027; the Lantern Festival itself on Saturday, February 20, 2027.
- Visit Ditan Park's temple fair during the holiday fortnight, then return on the fifteenth day for the lanterns.
- Ask at your hotel which designated areas, if any, allow firecrackers — don't assume the street outside is one.
Getting There During the Spring Festival Rush
The Chunyun travel rush begins around Friday, January 22, 2027 and lasts roughly 40 days, winding down in early March. If you are arriving from another city, book intercity trains and flights as early as possible, and carry the booking ID: nearly all trains require tickets linked to passenger ID, checked at boarding. The busiest waves come before New Year's Eve, on days two and three of the holiday (when families visit the wife's hometown), and at the end of the holiday — the Lantern Festival weekend sits in that final surge, so reserve ahead and expect special holiday opening hours at some sights.
- Book rail and air tickets well before the January 22 start of Chunyun.
- Keep your passport or ID with your ticket booking — it is checked at boarding.
- Build slack into your schedule around February 20; it falls in the holiday's busiest travel wave.
A Note on 2027 Dates
China's State Council sets official public holiday dates annually, and the 2027 schedule had not been announced as of October 2026. Treat the festival date — Saturday, February 20, 2027 — and the temple-fair tradition as fixed, and check official holiday announcements closer to the time for anything else.
Start with the one thing you know: the fifteenth night of the new year, February 20, 2027, under the lanterns at Ditan Park. Book your train or flight before the January rush begins, set aside the holiday fortnight for temple fairs and ice sculptures, and leave the final evening free for a bowl of sesame yuanxiao as the red lights come on.