LEGO celebrates Lunar New Year annually with themed sets. 2021's (Year of the Ox) featured a Spring Festival garden scene, while 2024's (Year of the Dragon) offered the LEGO Auspicious Dragon, a bronze statue replica. 2025, the Year of the Snake, brings three new sets: a Lucky Cat, a Good Fortune set featuring Chinese iconography (decorative fan, calligraphy set, gold ingots), and the magnificent Trotting Lantern, the focus of this review.
LEGO Spring Festival Trotting Lantern
$129.95 at Amazon
$129.99 at LEGO Store
This intricate Trotting Lantern is more than meets the eye. The level of detail is astounding, from hanging red lanterns to gold-accented borders and cloud-and-rock-detailed walls. The build itself is a layered process, starting with the core lantern and progressively adding intricate details, creating a satisfying and rewarding experience reminiscent of the now-retired LEGO Carousel.
Inspired by Han Dynasty lanterns, the LEGO version cleverly incorporates a rotating mechanism. A light brick illuminates a clear piece with a black-lined image, projecting it onto the lantern's side. Rotating the central rod animates the projection. While the advertised wall projection is blurry, the internal detail is captivating.
The upper tier opens to reveal charming dioramas: a dumpling stall, a decorations stall, and a shadow puppet theater. These hidden scenes add a delightful surprise, cleverly concealed within the lantern's design. The set includes five minifigures (one with a snake costume), dumplings, a red envelope, a shadow puppet, and chopsticks.
The set's value depends on your priorities. While the light-up, rotating feature isn't overwhelmingly impressive, the aesthetic beauty and hidden dioramas make it a stunning Lunar New Year centerpiece. Rated for ages 9+, its complexity suggests a more mature build experience.
For more LEGO options, check out our selections for the best LEGO sets overall, the best Marvel LEGO sets, and the most expensive LEGO sets.
LEGO Trotting Lantern, Set #80116, retails for $129.99 (1295 pieces) and is available now at Amazon and the LEGO Store.
