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Walk through the wonderland of lights to follow the story of Koda's dreams through beautiful, artsy installations.

Tianyu Lights Festival: The Basics

The Tianyu Lights Festival is brand-new to New York City, but its organizers have produced large-scale lantern festivals in 78 US cities, welcoming more than 7 million visitors. Its NYC installation is titled Koda's Adventure and recounts the 7-year-old title character's journey through an Amazon rainforest. Even as snow flurries floated down softly, the tropical rainforest vibes were visible!

While I was too preoccupied with the eye candy around me to closely follow Koda's journey, my daughter looked for the storyboard at each new installation.

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What Makes Tianyu Different?

Speaking of eye candy, the installations at Tianyu were truly spectacular and unlike anything we'd seen on visits to other seasonal displays! There were tons of traditional Chinese lanterns, to be sure, but the colors were a brilliant contrast to the crisp night sky.

Many displays had interactive elements, too, from smoke-filled bubbles to playable video games, and a kaleidoscope you could walk inside. With each step, we wondered what else designers could dream up!

We had tons of fun playing with interactive games that tested our reaction skills and trying to best one another's scores, and sitting on the swings anchored atop by dragonflies that lit up with each pump of your legs was mesmerizing, too.

About midway through, we entered the infinity room, which was worth the price of admission all on its own. Had our Christmas cards not already been ordered, we'd have a brilliant new selfie to consider.

Pro tip: Do keep an eye out for signs directing you to search for hidden objects in a couple of different sections. Find them and snap a picture—trust me, it's hard to resist taking tons—to show to the attendant when you exit and you'll leave with a token prize!

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Food and Amenities at Tianyu Lights Festival

There's a marketplace in the festival's center where guests can grab a bite to eat or a drink to warm up, and there's plenty of covered—though not heated—seating in plastic tents. You'll also find a few souvenirs and tchotchkes to purchase here, plus a stage with live entertainment. We loved the simple twinkling Christmas lights that shrouded the marketplace in a warm glow.

Food options skewed toward more refined tastes, with options like dumplings, bao, noodles, and an Argentinian sandwich shop. But, even picky kids can find something to nosh on. My daughters were excited to try tanghulu—a Chinese candied treat with fresh fruit coated in melted sugar. And, because they're sugar-crazed, we visited the cotton candy vendor, too, where watching him craft a multi-colored flower from spun sugar was a show in itself!

Tickets to Tianyu Lights Festival

Tickets start at $22 and increase depending on the date and time you visit. The light show runs through Sunday, January 19, 2025.

There is a fun light-up playground toward the end of the experience, where guests can ride illuminated cars and play carnival games for an additional fee, though there are some included-with-admission experiences here, too, including a light-up dance floor and illuminated swings.

Know Before You Go to Tianyu Lights Festival

• Dress for the weather! We went on a frigid night and everyone was pretty chilly by the time we finished the trail.
• Allow about two hours for your visit—less if you don't plan on eating.
• There is easy access to the Tianyu Lights Festival from the 7 train stop at Mets-Willets Point.
• There are portable bathroom trailers near the marketplace.

Photos by the author