The Lantern Festival (元宵节) marks the fifteenth and final day of Chinese New Year. In 2026 it falls on Tuesday, 3 March, and Sanfang Qixiang is Fuzhou's busiest lantern venue by a wide margin.
For the week around the festival the district's main spine — Nanhou Street — and several side lanes are strung with hand-painted silk and paper lanterns. Expect a compact night market, riddle games (猜灯谜) on suspended tags, a short live Fuzhou Opera set most evenings at the Water Pavilion Theatre, and pop-up yuanxiao (glutinous-rice ball) stalls.
Practical: arrive via Metro Line 1 to Dongjiekou; expect a 15–20 min wait at ticketed sub-venues between 19:00–21:00. Go early — the lanterns are switched on around 18:30 — or visit 1–2 evenings before the peak date for a calmer atmosphere.