Where to travel in February: 59 festivals

Festivals and seasonal sights in 65 cities in February: Chinese New Year in Binondo (Manila), Spring Festival temple fairs (Beijing), Yangmingshan Flower…

Top 10

Manila

• Chinese New Year in Binondo — Lion dancers go shop to shop and firecrackers go off; expect queues for tikoy rice cake and hopia.
• Art Fair Philippines — Contemporary art fair with galleries from across Southeast Asia, every February; check the year's venue and dates.

Beijing

• Spring Festival temple fairs — The first week of the lunar new year (from 6 February in 2027): market stalls, lion dances and skewer smoke in the parks. Ditan and Longtan charged ¥30, Changdian was free, and days one and two are the busiest.
• Yuanmingyuan Spring Festival fair — For nearly a month around the new year the park runs a flower show and a market, with sledding on the frozen lake.

Taipei

• Yangmingshan Flower Festival and Cherry Blossoms — Plum, cherry and azalea bloom in turn from late January to mid-March, then the calla lily fields at Zhuzihu through April. Weekend traffic jams the mountain road, so take the bus from Jiantan MRT.
• Lunar New Year — Fireworks go up from Taipei 101 at midnight on New Year's Eve, and Longshan Temple is packed with incense on the first morning. Many small restaurants and markets close for the first three days.
• Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival — Hundreds of lanterns rise at once after dark. The Pingxi line and the roads choke that day, so go in early afternoon and check the shuttle bus notice beforehand.
• Taipei Lantern Festival — For two or three weeks around the Lantern Festival full moon, giant lantern sculptures fill the streets and park, free to see. In 2026 it ran February 25 to March 15.

Bangkok

• Chinese New Year in Yaowarat — The road closes for lion and dragon processions. Restaurant queues double, so eat early.
• Bangkok Design Week — Installations and light pieces fill old warehouses and lanes. Talat Noi after dark is the walk.

Kota Kinabalu

• Chinese New Year lion dances — Lion dance troupes go shop to shop along Gaya Street and firecrackers go off. Many Chinese restaurants close for a few days.

Shanghai

• Yu Garden Lantern Festival — From about three weeks before Lunar New Year until the Lantern Festival, the year's zodiac animal floats in lights over the bazaar pond. Outer zones are free, the core zone is ticketed. Weekend evenings queue badly; go on a weeknight.
• Lunar New Year week — Small restaurants and shops close for about a week and the streets go quiet. Chains, hotels and malls stay open.

Singapore

• Chinese New Year light-up and Chingay Parade — The street market runs for a month beforehand and the bak kwa queues are long. Small shops close on the day itself and the next. Chingay is ticketed seating and sells out early.
• Geylang Serai Ramadan Bazaar and Hari Raya light-up — Hundreds of stalls fill up after sunset. During Ramadan daytime many Malay eateries around Kampong Glam stay shut until dusk.

Hong Kong

• Lunar New Year Parade and Fireworks — Night parade on New Year's Day, harbour fireworks the next night by tradition. The Victoria Park flower market in the days before is free to wander. Many shops close for the first three days.

Kuala Lumpur

• Chinese New Year lanterns at Thean Hou and Chinatown — Around the holiday thousands of red lanterns hang over the Thean Hou courtyard and about 80,000 people visit. Most Chinatown shops shut on the day itself and the next.

Qingdao

• Spring Festival temple fairs — The first week of the lunar new year (from 6 February in 2027): market stalls, lion dances and skewer smoke. Many shops close around the holiday and train tickets sell out early.

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