As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, city streets are taking on a festive new look. Cute rabbits, qilin, palace lanterns and imaginative light installations brighten the night, transforming the tradition of lantern-viewing into an experience made for strolling, admiring and photographing.
This Mid-Autumn Festival, discover the creative touches behind festive displays across different cities. Traditional lanterns remain central to the celebration, while contemporary installations increasingly turn public spaces into immersive nighttime scenes.
Hong Kong's first International Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnival features the Street of World Lanterns: 3,000+ lanterns from 20 countries, a dazzling overhead spectacle. (Image Source: Xiaohongshu)
Victoria Park displays cute Mid-Autumn lanterns shaped like Hong Kong snacks: egg tarts, egg waffles, milk tea, and curry fish balls. (Image Source: Xiaohongshu)
Like Yuen Long's Tai Kiu Market, Guangzhou's Guangxiao Road becomes a dreamy Mid-Autumn lantern street of dazzling handmade fish lanterns and festive cheer. (Image Source: Xiaohongshu)
Amid colourful Mid-Autumn fish lanterns on Guangzhou's Guangxiao Road, a small cat enjoys a cosy solitary moment in the bustling market's warm yellow glow. (Image Source: Xiaohongshu)
Foshan Lingnan Tiandi's "Xiao Market" showcases goldfish and Qilin lanterns, fusing traditional craft with modern trends. (Image Source: Xiaohongshu)
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After dark, Lingnan Tiandi's "Xiao Market" glows with swaying flower lanterns and rich Mid-Autumn cheer. (Image Source: Xiaohongshu)
At Shanghai Panlong Tiandi, the Moon Rabbit Arch Bridge and cat-themed floral lantern boat mirror each other in the water, embodying Jiangnan water-town festive romance. (Image Source: Xiaohongshu)
Shanghai Panlong Tiandi Mid-Autumn fest: "Galaxy into Jiangnan"—starry rabbit lanterns line the river. (Image Source: Xiaohongshu)
At The Ring, Chongqing Shopping Park, the Mid-Autumn installation is themed "Starry River Moon Rabbit." It features a hundred-metre-long starry river light display paired with seven cute, fluffy Oriental Jade Rabbits, transforming the outer street into a dreamy Moon Palace. (Image Source: Xiaohongshu)
The 7 Mid-Autumn Jade Rabbits inside The Ring, Chongqing Shopping Park, some holding mooncakes, some draped in colourful ribbons, and some carrying lanterns, are all of different designs and are adorably charming. (Image Source: Xiaohongshu)
From Victoria Park in Hong Kong to Guangxiao Road in Guangzhou, Lingnan Tiandi in Foshan, Panlong Tiandi in Shanghai and The Ring Shopping Park in Chongqing, each destination lends its own character to the Mid-Autumn Festival.
There are lantern-lit parks, the traditional charm of old-town streets, moonlit scenes of historic buildings by the water, and imaginative installations infused with contemporary art.
From south to north, and from old to new, the glowing lanterns reflect the many ways different places imagine the festival.