Lantern Festival

From 16 December, the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden is preparing a brand new, magical festival for visitors. The Year of the Dragon Lantern Festival will offer visitors a fantasy of light and shade with over 100 lantern lights for more than 70 days. This time, a world full of animals will take visitors on a journey to the East, which will also introduce them to a slice of Chinese cultural heritage.

2024 is the Year of the Dragon – according to the Chinese calendar – so the festival’s centrepiece is closely linked to the Chinese New Year, in the hope that the New Year will bring good luck, peace and happiness to all. The Year of the Dragon Lantern Festival invites not only Chinese culture lovers to take a moonlit stroll, but also families and lovers of spectacular entertainment. For young and old alike, the exhibition is a great way to relax on cold winter evenings, with unique installations that capture the imagination.

Through the entrance to the Biodome, you can enter through a beautiful illuminated “magic gate” among thousands of lanterns. The Year of the Dragon festival is the only lampion exhibition in our country, where you can immerse yourself in a wonderful and unique spectacular light and sound show. The play of light and shadow leads us into an animal fantasy world. The lanterns invite you on an oriental journey, which also introduces you to a slice of Chinese cultural heritage. Among the rocks and rivers, giant pandas play; a beautiful phoenix flaps its wings and prepares to fly; while a majestic 20-metre dragon guards peace and the land – but we won’t go on listing the nearly half a hundred different spectacular installations.

Venue: Budapest Zoo
Date: 16 Dec – 24 Feb.

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