One of Hong Kong’s biggest cultural celebrations is almost upon us — Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on October 6, 2025. Apart from shopping for and gifting mooncakes to family, friends and colleagues, there are a ton of activities that you can check out to get in on the festivities — think colourful lantern carnivals, awe-inspiring fire dragon dances, and the first-of-its-kind drone show. So mark your calendar for some exciting Mid-Autumn Festival events that will take place throughout the following month.
Visit Lantern Carnivals & Lunar Displays
The highlight of the festival are the lanterns displayed across the city that symbolically illuminate people’s path to good fortune and prosperity. Many of these carnivals are organised by the government, but there are also quite a few put together by communities across the city. Here are some of the most popular lantern carnivals happening in Hong Kong this year.
Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnival at Victoria Park
The Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnival returns to Victoria Park from September 30 to October 7. It celebrates with lantern displays, cultural performances, and traditional crafts such as lantern making. Lighting runs from 6:30pm to 11pm, extended to midnight on October 6 . Admission is free, with first-come-first-served entry and crowd control measures in place.
Where: Victoria Park, 1 Hing Fat Street, Causeway Bay
When: September 30-October 7
Lights on: 6:30pm-11pm (until midnight on October 6)
How to get there: Walk towards Hing Fat Street from Tin Hau Station (Exit A2) to enter the park via the basketball courts, take any of these buses, or alight at the Hing Fat Street tram stop.
Mid-Autumn Lantern Display at Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza
This display is the focal point of the Mid-Autumn festivities in Tsim Sha Tsui. Every year, there is a themed installation at the Cultural Centre, right in front of the clock tower. This not only pays homage to the practice of moon-gazing, but also makes for great pics!
Where: Hong Kong Cultural Centre, 10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
When: September 25-October 19, 2025
Lights on: 6:30pm-11pm (until midnight on October 6)
How to get there: It’s a 5-minute walk from the Tsim Sha Tsui Star Ferry Pier via Salisbury Road. Alternatively, you can take the MTR to East Tsim Sha Tsui Station (Exit L6) or East Tsim Sha Tsui Station (Exit J3) and follow the signs to the venue, or board any of these buses.
Lantern Display at East Coast Park Precinct
East Coast Park Precinct in North Point hosts a Mid-Autumn lantern display, with colourful installations decorating pavilions and railings. Against the backdrop of Victoria Harbour’s night view, the seaside park becomes a festive hotspot perfect for evening strolls and photos.
Where: East Coast Park Precinct, North Point
When: October 1, 2025 onwards
How to get there: The closest MTR Station is at North Point (Exit A1), which you can walk for about 3 minutes via Tong Shui Road.
Joyful Night, Moonlit Blue Exhibition at Blue House
Every Mid-autumn festival, Wan Chai’s iconic Blue House organises its annual “Joyful Night, Moonlit Blue” exhibition, where hand-painted lanterns decorate one of best heritage buildings in Hong Kong. Up to 700 lanterns are usually suspended from the building’s façade facing Stone Nullah Road and in the courtyard.
Where: Blue House, 72A Stone Nullah Lane, Wan Chai
When: October 1-20, 2025
How to get there: Head to Wan Chai MTR Station (Exit A3) or the O’Brien Street tram stop, and turn left on to Spring Garden Lane from Johnston Road. Then turn left again on to Queen’s Road East. Walk another two minutes to reach Stone Nullah Lane.
Tai O Water Village Lantern Festival
The fishing village of Tai O, called the Venice of Hong Kong, is known for its stilt houses and shrimp paste. It also honours the tradition of spotting the moon goddess Chang’e by hosting its own lantern festival. More than 800 paper lanterns are strung along the village’s famous waterways, best viewed from the mural at Tai O Square. Visitors can also join the popular Tai O Night Boat Parade, gliding along tranquil waterways on traditional hand-rowed sampans. Lantern-lit boats and riverside displays reflect the village’s rich fishing heritage. Advanced online registration is preferred for the night boat parade.
Where: Tai O village, Lantau Island
When: October 1, 2025 onwards
Lights on: 6:30pm-9:30pm
How to get there: Take the MTR to Tung Chung Station and take the No. 11 bus to Tai O. Alternatively, you can take the Mui Wo Ferry from Central Pier No. 6, and then take the No. 1 bus to Tai O. There is also a Tuen Mun-Tung Chung-Tai O ferry service.
Watch a Fire Dragon Dance
The tradition of fire dragon dances in Hong Kong dates back more than 140 years, when a plague struck the fishing village of Tai Hang. To combat this, the villagers created a dragon made out of incense sticks and paraded it around the village for three days — a ritual that has endured till today and become an important part of the Mid-Autumn festivities in the 852. There are two traditional fire dragon dances you can watch in Hong Kong.
Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance
The Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance involves parading a 67-metre-long dragon made out of 72,000 incense sticks through the neighbourhood of Tai Hang. It’s a community event in which 300 dancers train for months to manoeuvre the dragon to perform intricate tricks and dance patterns. This year, children will carry a small LED dragon at 7pm from October 3 to 4.
Where: Tai Hang
When: October 5-7, 2025
Time: 7:30pm-10pm (October 5 & 7); 7:30pm-11:30pm (October 6)
How to get to Tai Hang: Head to the Tin Hau Station (Exit A2), go along Causeway Road before turning left, just past Queen’s College, and down Fire Dragon Path. You can also take a bus to Tin Hau Public Transport Interchange or take a tram and get off at Victoria Park (Westbound) or Hing Fat Street (Eastbound).
Pok Fu Lam Fire Dragon Dance
While the fire dragon dance in Tai Hang is the best known in Hong Kong, there is another in the village of Pok Fu Lam — a 200-year-old settlement in the southern part of Hong Kong Island. This 10-metre-long dragon made out of straw and bamboo is smaller than its Tai Hang counterpart, and is paraded around Pok Fu Lam only on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival by 20 dancers. The procession will go past significant landmarks in the village, such as Li Ling Divine Pagoda, and stop at the southbound bus station and two housing estates for performances. Traditionally, the dragon was released into the ocean, representing its “return to the sea”, but the ritual is now symbolically carried out on land due to environmental concerns.
Where: Pok Fu Lam Village
When: October 5-6, 2025
Time: 7:00pm-10:00pm (October 5), 7:00pm-12:00am (October 6)
How to get there: Take the following buses to Pok Fu Lam Farm, which alight at the village bus stop.
Visit Lee Tung Avenue
Every year, Lee Tung Avenue has a canopy of lanterns for Mid-Autumn Festival, and in 2025 the celebration returns bigger than ever. From October 1–26, over 800 lanterns, including goldfish-shaped designs, will light up Wan Chai each evening. The highlight is the LED Fire Dragon Fiesta on October 6, featuring an 18-metre-long dragon lit with multi-coloured bulbs!
Where: Lee Tung Avenue, 200 Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai
When: October 1–26, 2025 (lantern display) | October 6, 2025 (LED Fire Dragon dance)
Time: 10am-11pm (lantern display, lights on at 5pm) | 8:30pm-9:15pm (LED Fire Dragon dance)
How to get there: Take the MTR to Wan Chai (Exit A3), and cross Johnston Road to get to Lee Tung Avenue. You can also take the tram to O’Brien Street and walk for 2 minutes to get to the avenue from there.
Visit Sik Sik Yuen Centennial Carnival at Wong Tai Sin Temple
Wong Tai Sin Temple is one of the best temples in Hong Kong, and crowds flock here on Chinese New Year’s Eve to burn incense sticks and pray for good luck for the year ahead. But the temple also hosts an annual carnival during Mid-Autumn Festival that includes a lantern display, puppet shows, and Cantonese Opera. This year, there will also be lantern riddle-guessing, stargazing and moon-viewing sessions, Chinese music performances and an online hanfu photography competition.
Where: Wong Tai Sin Temple, 2 Chuk Yuen Village, Wong Tai Sin, Kowloon
When: September 27-October 12, 2025
Time: 6:30pm-9:00pm. 6:30-10:00 during October 4-7
How to get here: Take the MTR to Wong Tai Sin Station (Exit B2) and walk for 3 minutes towards the temple premises.
Visit Tai Po Lake House
This is one of the most picturesque spots in Hong Kong, and is popular for weddings and photo shoots. And every year for Mid-Autumn Festival, they have a massive moon installation, along with rabbit decorations. This year is no different, and visitors to Tai Po Lake House will see a 10-metre-high inflatable moon, as well as a 5-metre pink haze moon, starry forest lights and jade rabbit displays. Other highlights include the limited-time Moonlit Voyage wooden boat with Everloft Studio. Regular Ticket is available at HK$35 per person.
Where: Tai Po Lake House, 2 Hung Lam Drive, Tai Po Kau
When: September 27-October 7, 2025
Time: 6pm-11pm
How to get there: Head to Tai Po Market Station and take the free shuttle to the Lake House on South Yuen Road. The service operates every half hour from 5:15pm to 11:15pm.
Check out a lantern market
While there are several places where you can see lanterns in Hong Kong, the Tai Kiu Market in Yuen Long is the definitive spot in the city during Mid-Autumn Festival. The market transforms into a colourful display of lanterns that pops up on IG feeds during this time of year. But if that’s a little out of the way for you, there are places on Hong Kong Island and Kowloon that should do the trick, such as Tai Yuen Street in Wan Chai and Fuk Wing Street in Sham Shui Po. These thoroughfares are famed for their reasonably priced toys, but transform into kaleidoscopic displays of Mid-Autumn lanterns in the run-up to the festival.
Go moon-gazing
This tradition goes back to China’s Tang dynasty (618 CE to 907 CE), when people made offerings of food and drink to the moon goddess, Chang’e, to give thanks for the harvest. The largest gatherings are usually on the eve of Mid-Autumn, when everyone welcomes the moon. However, you’ll still spot crowds gazing at the moon on the night of the festival itself, and bidding farewell to the full moon the following day.
You can’t miss the best moon-gazing spots in Hong Kong as they’re usually lit up by pinpricks of light from lanterns and glow sticks. The most popular places are Tamar Park, West Kowloon Art Park, Victoria Park, Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park, and Hong Kong Park. But you can also head to a beach or book a table at one of Hong Kong’s best rooftop bars that overlook Victoria Harbour.
If you want to know what the viewing conditions will be like, check the Hong Kong Observatory website for updates.
Header image credits: Lee Tung Avenue, Leung Cho Pan via Canva, George Lau via Flickr via Flickr
