Each year, LEGO introduces captivating themed sets to celebrate the Lunar New Year, showcasing intricate designs and cultural elements. In 2021, during the Year of the Ox, LEGO delighted fans with the Spring Festival set, set within a traditional garden. Fast forward to 2024, the Year of the Dragon, and LEGO released the Auspicious Dragon set, resembling a majestic bronze statue mounted on a stand.
LEGO Spring Festival Trotting Lantern
Available at Amazon for $129.95 and at the LEGO Store for $129.99, the 2025 Year of the Snake introduces three unique sets. The first is the Lucky Cat, followed by Good Fortune, a set that melds various Chinese iconography such as a decorative fan, a calligraphy pen and scroll, and golden ingots. The highlight, however, is the third set, which we've meticulously built and photographed for this review: the traditional trotting lantern. This set is a testament to LEGO's ability to create builds that are more than meets the eye.
We Build The LEGO Trotting Lantern
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The exterior of this model is a spectacle of extravagance, with every inch adorned with decorative elements. From the red lanterns hanging from the buttresses to the gold detailing on the walls' borders and the walls themselves, depicting open sky and clouds framed by rocks, this set is a visual feast.
Constructing the lantern is a delightful process of layering. You begin with the core lantern, followed by adding intricate details, and finally layering even more elements on top. This build evokes the same sense of anticipation and joy as the now-retired LEGO Carousel, where each new piece adds to the complexity and beauty of the final product.
Historically, real trotting lanterns from the Han Dynasty used oil lamps to project silhouettes of paper cutouts and heat to rotate propellers. LEGO ingeniously replicates this effect with a mechanism that includes an upright rod triggering a light brick, causing the bottom of the lantern to glow yellow. The light projects through a clear piece with a black-lined image, which rotates around the lantern as you turn the rod.
While the packaging suggests projecting the image onto a wall, in practice, the projection is blurry and unclear. This feature, though promoted, falls short of expectations and deviates from the original lantern's design. The real gem of this set lies in the upper tier, which opens to reveal three hidden dioramas: a food stall with dumplings, a decorations stall, and a shadow puppet theater. These elements, concealed within the lantern's cylinder, showcase LEGO's mastery in creating depth and surprise. The set includes five minifigures, one adorned with a snake costume, along with accessories like a plate of dumplings, a red envelope, a shadow puppet, and chopsticks.
The decision to purchase this set hinges on your interest in its features. If you're captivated by the rotating mechanical effect, it might not meet your expectations due to its limited clarity and impact. However, if you seek an aesthetically stunning set that hides intricate minifigure-scale scenery within a beautifully detailed container, the LEGO Trotting Lantern is a remarkable tribute to the Lunar New Year. It's suitable for those aged 9 and up, though its detailed finish might appeal more to adult builders.
For more LEGO inspiration, explore our selections of the best LEGO sets, Marvel LEGO sets, and the most luxurious LEGO sets available.
The LEGO Trotting Lantern, set number 80116, is priced at $129.99 and comprises 1295 pieces. It is available now at Amazon and the LEGO Store.
