The Chinese New Year holiday may be over officially, but the festive spirit continues at the “Megalights Wonderland” at Chaoyang’s Wenyuhe Park. The 400-acre park-wide lantern festival is the biggest that Beijing residents have seen in years, featuring more than 1,000 colored lanterns over six specific themes from “Auspicious Dragon” to “Vast Space.” Indeed, the show has been so popular since it opened that officials have extended its closing date to July, so you’ll have plenty of opportunity to visit.

Here are five useful tips you need to know before you make your way to the spectacular lights event.

1. Buy your tickets ahead of time

To avoid being turned away at the door, buy your tickets on Dianping or whichever local ticketing app you’re familiar with that supports this event. On Dianping, prices start from RMB 68 for children and RMB 118 for adults, with discounted family packages. Do note that there are refundable and non-refundable tickets, so ensure that you get the right one for your needs. Tickets are only usable for the day you choose, and ticket sales usually start a couple of days in advance on Dianping. (“What’s Dianping?” you ask? Check out this post here to find out all about the must-have local Yelp equivalent.)

Search “温榆千灯会“ (Wēnyú qiān dēnghuì) to find tickets. 

2. Get a map

You can download a picture of the physical map or get your own free copy at the kiosks around the park. It’s good to have a plan before you arrive, considering the likelihood of sprawling crowds.

For us, we chose to start from gate 21 and go counter-clockwise for a full circle, exiting at gate 20 (because gate 21 was closed for exit after 7pm). This way seemed the least crowded in our experience.

Gate 23 remained opened for entry until 9pm, and for exit for the whole time, though it must be said that the areas closest to gate 23 were the most packed. Also note that the small road leading up to gate 23 is not open for vehicle traffic, so you’ll have to walk from the main road.

3. No need to pack a picnic, unless you want to save ¥¥¥

There are plenty of food options near every entrance/exit within the park, but prices are a little steep. From local faves such as lamb chuan’r (RMB 30), Chinese sausages (RMB 10), smelly tofu and deep-fried tapioca (RMB 25) all the way to popcorn (RMB ~18-25) and cotton candy (RMB 10), there’s something for everyone at the many F&B stands.

Bonus points if you can buy your snacks from someone dressed up as a local legend. Sun Wukong sold my kid cotton candy!

Toilets were clean and quite accessible as well. Parents – beware the shiny light-up plastic toy shops and game stands that threaten to catch your child’s eye!

4. Prepare for the cold weather (at least for now)

Bundling up is a must since the show only starts at 4.30pm and looks its best after sundown. Temperatures can drop significantly, and since you’ll likely be snapping plenty of photos, protect your hands with some touchscreen-friendly gloves! You’re also going to be walking for at least an hour, so make sure to wear warm socks and comfortable walking shoes. We made it through the park in two hours at a leisurely pace with a pretty large crowd.

5. Camera tips

We arrived before sundown based on some poor advice that the lanterns were just as fun to see in the daytime as they were at night. This was not true in our opinion. While the lanterns are creative in design and quite spectacular in size, they really did not look nearly as exciting or cool in the daylight as they did glowing in the dark. Also, when photographed in the day, the lanterns appeared to be flickering in videos and were rather lackluster in photos. This did not happen once night fell and the lanterns were all fully aglow.

The difference is like day and night!

PRO TIP: To avoid the flickering on camera phones, we were told that you can touch anywhere on the phone screen while using the camera to choose a focal point.

One last tip: The 15m tall giant astronaut lantern has a fun bonus activity where you can superimpose your own face onto the astronaut’s helmet! However, to accomplish this, you’ll have to wait in line for your photo to be taken. When we were there at 6.30pm on a Saturday, we were told the queue was hours-long. Perhaps if you visit at a later date, there will be fewer crowds and you’ll not have to wait as long.

Enjoy the show!

Images: Vivienne Tseng-Rush

KEEP READING: We Saw Fireworks at Universal This CNY!