We Build the LEGO Trotting Lantern, a 2025 Lunar New Year Celebration

LEGO consistently celebrates the Lunar New Year with themed sets, each year bringing new delights to fans. In 2021, marking the Year of the Ox, LEGO released the Spring Festival set, beautifully situated in a traditional garden. Fast forward to 2024, the Year of the Dragon, where LEGO introduced the Auspicious Dragon set, resembling a bronze statue on a stand.

### LEGO Spring Festival Trotting Lantern

As we approach 2025, the Year of the Snake, LEGO is set to launch three captivating sets. The first, a Lucky Cat, promises charm and good fortune. The second, titled Good Fortune, is a rich tapestry of Chinese iconography featuring a decorative fan, a calligraphy pen and scroll, and golden ingots. However, it's the third set, the LEGO Trotting Lantern, that truly captures the essence of the Lunar New Year with its opulent design and intricate details.

We Build The LEGO Trotting Lantern

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The LEGO Trotting Lantern's exterior is a testament to detailed craftsmanship. Every part of this set is adorned with decorative elements, from the hanging red lanterns on the buttresses to the gold detailing on the walls, which depict open skies and clouds framed by rocks.

Constructing the lantern involves a rewarding process of layering. You begin with the core lantern, then add layers of detail, and finally, top it off with even more intricate elements. This build evokes the same sense of anticipation and delight as the now-retired LEGO Carousel, where each new piece adds to the overall grandeur.

Historically, trotting lanterns from the Han Dynasty used oil lamps to project silhouettes and rotate with heat-generated propellers. LEGO has ingeniously adapted this concept with a mechanism that uses a rod to trigger a light brick, illuminating the lantern's base with a yellow glow. This light shines through a clear piece with a black-lined image, projecting and rotating it around the lantern when the rod is turned.

Although the packaging suggests the image can be projected onto external surfaces, the result is often blurry and unclear, making this feature less of a highlight. However, the upper tier of the lantern, which opens to reveal three hidden dioramas—a food stall, a decorations stall, and a shadow puppet theater—adds a surprising and delightful element. These dioramas, cleverly concealed within the lantern, come with five minifigures, including one wearing a snake costume, along with accessories like dumplings, a red envelope, a shadow puppet, and chopsticks.

The decision to purchase this set hinges on what you value most. If the mechanical, rotating light effect is your main draw, you might find it underwhelming for the price. However, if you're after a visually stunning piece that hides intricate scenes within an elaborately detailed exterior, the LEGO Trotting Lantern is a perfect embodiment of the Lunar New Year's spirit. This set is rated for ages 9 and up, but its complexity and final appearance suggest it's more suitable for adults.

For more LEGO inspiration, explore our top picks for the best LEGO sets, the best Marvel LEGO sets, and the most expensive LEGO sets.

The LEGO Trotting Lantern, Set #80116, retails for $129.99 and consists of 1295 pieces. It is available now at Amazon and the LEGO Store.