Thousands of lights illuminate Keelung’s Ghost Month nights

Thousands of lights illuminate Keelung’s Ghost Month nights

2026-08-25

Bright lights and dazzling fireworks lit up the night sky in Keelung on Monday evening, to mark the start of one of the most famous Ghost Month events in Taiwan. The festivities kicked off with the lighting of the main altar at Zhongzheng Park, which elicited gasps of awe from worshippers. Over the next few days, parades will take to the streets, mass offerings will be held and water lanterns will be set off at sea, that is if the weather permits.

The countdown reaches zero, marking the start of one of Keelung’s most important Ghost Month festival rituals: the lighting of the main altar.

Thousands of lanterns lit up Zhongzheng Park with a festive glow on Monday evening, as fireworks sparkled in the night sky.

The festival is in its 172nd edition. The light ceremony symbolizes the linking of the world of the living and the dead. Wandering spirits are given this grand welcome to help themselves to offerings, as well as bring good weather and peace to Taiwan.

Before the illumination ceremony, worshippers were treated to spectacular performances. Also in attendance were Mayor George Hsieh and other city officials, who joined this year’s hosts in a purification ritual before switching the display on.

George Hsieh
Keelung Mayor
Everyone involved has put their heart into this, to preserve and pass down Taiwan’s and Keelung’s most important Ghost Month festival, now in its 172nd year.

The grand light-up ceremony went ahead without a hitch, but with a typhoon approaching Taiwan, other events such as parades, the water lanterns ceremony or the mass offering rite could be affected. For now, everything is set to proceed as planned.

Liu Wei-hsun
Liu-Tang-Du clan association
We’re sure Laoda Gong will protect us, so that everything goes ahead smoothly. We shouldn’t worry too much, there’s no need. We’ll ramp up safety measures and everything should be fine.

Chiang Ting-mei
Keelung Culture and Tourism Bureau
We’ll have the parade move a little faster, so that it can be all over a little quicker. If the waves are too big, we’ll burn the lanterns on shore, instead of setting them on the sea, to prevent any accidents.

The bright lights coming from the festive altar light up Keelung’s evening now, keeping the tradition alive for its 172nd year, and attracting hordes of tourists undeterred by the weather.

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