Kryssa

Does anyone have suggestions for the easiest way to see this on Feb 11th? While it would be nice to send off a lantern, we are most interesting in just seeing a launch or two.

We are staying in Taipei near Dongmen MRT and are comfortable with bus or train if we have good instructions on how to get there.

Also if any locals or travelers are also planning to go, would be happy to meet up.

In fact, we'll be in Taiwan for 2-3 weeks starting Feb 5th if anyone wants to meet up for tea/drinks/adventures - our itinerary is pretty flexible.

kevincrumbs

I went to Pingxi a few years ago on a random day and while it certainly wasn't the lantern festival, I was still able to witness a couple of launches.

From Dongmen, take the Red Line to Taipei Main and from Taipei Main, you need to catch a train heading for Ruifang. From Ruifang, you'll catch a Pingxi Line train and alight at Shifen. It's hard to miss because right before Shifen is a section of track that passes right through the town, along with the fact that many others will be getting off the train at the same station.

You can search the TRA's schedules in English here. This blog post by a Singaporean visitor has a good overview of the process, along with activities in Shifen. Keep in mind that it's from 2014 but it still looks valid.

sinoflyer

The rail schedule won't really work for the lantern festival, so forget about it. Your best bet is to take MRT to Taipei Zoo, and transfer to the special shuttle bus that goes straight to Pingxi town. From there, it's about a 10 minute walk to the launching grounds. Don't worry about specific directions -- just follow the crowd!

Here is a good English article about Pingxi's Lantern Festival:
PINGXI 2016 SKY LANTERN FESTIVAL IN TAIWAN

Kryssa

Haha "follow the crowd I can do" - and idea how early we should start the journey? I think the first lanterns launch in the evening?

sinoflyer

I don't know what time the first lantern launch happens, but I've seen pictures of it while there was still some natural light out, so I venture to guess that it starts about a half hour after sunset. The launches then repeat every 15-30 minutes (not exactly sure about the intervals, but they do repeat frequently). Working backwards, it's about a 45-60 minute ride on the shuttle from Zoo to Pingxi town, and then 10 minutes of walking to the actual grounds. Plus, there's the travel time from your hotel, so you should figure that the oneway journey, at a leisurely pace, will take at least 1 1/2 hours.

Pingxi itself is a charming town. It wouldn't be so bad an idea to set out there in the mid-afternoon, stroll around, and have a bite or two before watching the lanterns. Like I said previously, you can't get lost there. Enjoy it as well as the rest of your stay in Taiwan!

Skyman65

Yes, this is the correct answer for the Lantern Festival. The normal rules for going to Pingxi don't apply during festival. Go to the zoo and take the shuttle.

Keep in mind that while it's only a ten-minute walk TO the launching grounds, it may take you an hour to get back to your bus for the return trip AFTER the launching, as everyone is trying to leave at the same time, and the street is wall-to-wall bodies shuffling along at a snail's pace.

Kryssa

Thanks guys! Super excited about seeing this and of course the rest of Taiwan

ProleOnParole

Sinoflyer's advice to follow the crowds from Taipei Zoo should be enough to get there but if you want to prepare better, some more details below:

There will be three special bus services from Taipei Zoo, as well as Ruifang and Jilong train stations. Buses from the Zoo will start at 9:00 and run throughout the day. The fare is 50 TWD to be paid upon boarding. The festival takes place in Shifen at #136 Nanshan Ping. The place can be found on Google Maps when searching for "十分天燈廣場". 1,200 lanterns will be released in 8 batches between 18:00 and 20:30. Entrance to the venue will open at 10:00. The return service from Shifen will be free to take and run until 23:00. Roads in the area will be closed for car and motorcycle traffic between 9:00 and 24:00.

Bus timetable in English (Chinese)
Event schedule in English (Chinese)

OB one

If you head to the festival during the day, a visit to the Shifen waterfalls would be worth it. Likely it will be quite crowded and you won't get a picture of ONLY you in front of the falls but the walk is a nice way to spend an hour or two.

Bear4Asian

My partner and I just went to Pingxi last weekend to see some launches. We took a slightly different route that worked well. We took the MRT to the stop just before the Taipei Zoo (Muzha) and went across the street from the MRT to take the local bus line (#795) to Pingxi. Stored value MRT card works on the bus as well.

Note: It's a local bus but gets you to Pingxi in under an hour. And best grab a seat as the road is very curvy.

See this for other alternatives.

https://www.travelking.com.tw/eng/to...ld-street.html

Don't drive. Parking will be impossible.

Kryssa

Wow thanks - this is super helpful!

Kryssa

How early did you get there? Just trying to figure out the timing for the day. Thanks

Bear4Asian

We got there just before dark. (@ 5:30?), but we weren't going for the actual festival day. We left the central hotel location in Taipei @ 4:00 so our travel time was around 1 1/2 hr. I'd say the the actual festival day, you'd want to go several hours earlier as the buses will be full and traffic backed up on the road. As others have said, the village is interesting and has restaurants and such, so getting there early you shouldn't be bored.

ProleOnParole

Here's what it looked like, for anyone interested:

ProleOnParole

It's a long video, so here are the links directly to the moment the lanterns were released the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and the 5th time.