By Harry Nara · Last updated
- Where
- Gardens by the Bay, Jurong Lake Gardens and Chinatown
- Tickets
- Free
- Time of year
- September or October
- Dates
- Move each year with the lunar calendar
The festival day is set by the lunar calendar. In the Hong Kong Observatory’s table, the fifteenth of the eighth lunar month falls on Wednesday 15 September 2027. It is not a public holiday. The Gardens by the Bay, Jurong Lake Gardens and Chinatown programmes are announced nearer the time; at the last edition, around a festival day of 25 September 2026, they ran from 11 and 12 September into early October.
Mid-Autumn in Singapore is a lantern festival you can see on almost any evening for two or three weeks, not only on the night of the full moon, and the lanterns cost nothing to see. Gardens by the Bay puts on the biggest display, with giant lantern sets around the Supertrees and floating on Dragonfly Lake. Jurong Lake Gardens, out west, holds its own lantern festival with music and food. Chinatown has moved to a smaller community display at Kreta Ayer Square after dropping its famous street lanterns. Mooncakes are on sale everywhere in the weeks before. Bring a battery lantern, not a candle.
What Mid-Autumn Festival actually is
The harvest moon festival of the Chinese calendar, held under the full moon of mid-autumn. In Singapore it means lanterns and mooncakes: families walk lantern trails after dark, children carry their own, and boxes of mooncakes change hands as gifts in the weeks before.
It is not a public holiday. Offices, shops and hawker centres keep their usual hours, and the celebrations run in the evenings over several weeks, so a visitor can see the lanterns without being in town on the night itself.
Chinatown changed its format at the last edition. The large street lanterns over Eu Tong Sen Street and New Bridge Road, a fixture for 24 years, were not put up; the Chinatown Festival Committee moved the celebration to community lanterns at Kreta Ayer Square and Banda Street, saying big displays were now a regular sight at Gardens by the Bay and Jurong Lake Gardens. Its street lanterns carry on at Chinese New Year.
Where to see the lanterns
- Gardens by the Bay. The largest display, free to walk. At its fourteenth edition, the last, eight lantern sets lit the outdoor gardens each evening from 6pm to 10pm: the biggest, 20 metres across, floated on Dragonfly Lake, and the tallest rose 11 metres against a Supertree.
- Jurong Lake Gardens, for Lights by the Lake. The National Parks Board’s festival in the west, with lantern displays, light shows, music and food in the evenings. At the last edition the programme ran 6:30pm to 10:30pm for nine days and the lanterns stayed up for a week after it ended.
- Chinatown, for the community lanterns. Lanterns carrying the wishes of residents and visitors go up at Kreta Ayer Square and Banda Street through the festival weeks. The main evening brings a lantern procession, mooncakes with tea, and lantern riddles in Singapore’s four official languages. Think of it as a neighbourhood celebration rather than a show.
Tickets and what it costs
Seeing the lanterns is free at all three. Gardens by the Bay charges for its marketplace, carnival games and lantern-making sessions, and the Flower Dome keeps its usual ticket.
Mooncakes are where the money goes. Bakeries and hotels sell them for weeks beforehand; one from a bakery is an inexpensive snack, while a boxed hotel set is a gift and priced as one.
Official information and booking: www.gardensbythebay.com.sg
Getting there
Gardens by the Bay has its own station on the Thomson–East Coast line, and Bayfront, on the Circle and Downtown lines, is also close.
For Jurong Lake Gardens take the East–West line: Lakeside station is a three-minute walk from the Lakeside Plaza entrance, and Chinese Garden station five minutes from the Chinese Garden Bridge. NParks asks visitors to come by public transport, as large crowds are expected.
For Kreta Ayer Square, get off at Chinatown, served by the North East and Downtown lines.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Bringing a candle lantern
Gardens by the Bay and Jurong Lake Gardens both allow battery-powered lanterns only. Lit candles and sparklers are not permitted.
Looking for the old Chinatown street lanterns
The big displays over Eu Tong Sen Street and New Bridge Road were dropped at the last edition. Head to Kreta Ayer Square for Chinatown’s lanterns, or to Gardens by the Bay for the giant sets.
Arriving after the festival day
The displays open up to two weeks before it and most come down within a week of it. Plan the visit for the run-up.
Going before dark
The lanterns are switched on in the early evening, but they are at their best once the sky is fully dark.
Buying a hotel box to try one
Hotel sets are presentation gifts. For a taste, a single mooncake from a bakery does the job for a fraction of the price.
Other Singapore events
Frequently asked questions
When is the Mid-Autumn Festival in Singapore?
On a date set by the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls in September or early October. The lantern displays run for weeks around it.
Is the Mid-Autumn Festival a public holiday in Singapore?
No. It is not on the gazetted list, so offices, shops and hawker centres keep their usual hours.
Where can you see Mid-Autumn lanterns in Singapore?
Gardens by the Bay has the largest free display, Jurong Lake Gardens holds Lights by the Lake, and Chinatown has community lanterns at Kreta Ayer Square and Banda Street.
Does Chinatown still have Mid-Autumn street lanterns?
Not at the last edition. The Chinatown Festival Committee replaced the large lanterns over Eu Tong Sen Street and New Bridge Road with a community display at Kreta Ayer Square, and kept its street lanterns for Chinese New Year.
Can you bring your own lantern?
Yes, if it is battery-powered. Gardens by the Bay and Jurong Lake Gardens do not allow candles or other open flames.
Sources
- Gardens by the Bay, media room
- National Parks Board, Lights by the Lake
- Mothership, on the Chinatown Festival Committee’s change of format
- Hong Kong Observatory, Gregorian–lunar calendar conversion
Dates on this page are checked against the organiser’s own listing and confirmed through 2027. Written and maintained by Harry Nara.