{"schema_version":"v1","type":"trip_article","slug":"keelung-ghost-festival-2026","locale":"en","canonical_url":"https://www.voucherdata.asia/en/trips/keelung-ghost-festival-2026","updated_at":"2026-10-14T00:00:00+00:00","headline":"Keelung Ghost Festival 2027: 2–31 August (seventh lunar month), water lanterns on the night of 15 August","one_sentence_summary":"The 2027 Keelung Ghost Festival runs 2–31 August, the seventh lunar month. Lanterns go into the sea at Wanghai Lane on 15 August. In 2026 the month ran 13 August–10 September, with the release on 26 August.","facts":[{"label":"Dates","value":"2027: 2–31 August (1st to 30th of the seventh lunar month). 2026: 13 August–10 September (1st to 29th). Both are converted from the new-moon dates in the Central Weather Administration almanac.","source":"https://www.cwa.gov.tw/Data/astronomy/2027cal.pdf","sourceLabel":"cwa.gov.tw"},{"label":"Lantern release","value":"The night of the 14th day of the seventh lunar month: Sunday 15 August in 2027. On 26 August 2026 the city parade ran 19:00–22:00 and the lead lanterns were released at Wanghai Lane, Badouzi at 23:00.","source":"https://www.nownews.com/news/6869444","sourceLabel":"nownews.com"},{"label":"Opening and closing the shrine gate","value":"The gate at the Laodagong Temple opens on the afternoon of the 1st of the seventh month and closes on the 1st of the eighth. In 2026 that was 13 August at 14:00 and 11 September at 17:00.","source":"https://www.nownews.com/news/6869444","sourceLabel":"nownews.com"},{"label":"Origin","value":"A truce after the Zhangzhou-Quanzhou feud of 1853, the third year of the Xianfeng reign (the Ministry of the Interior also lists 1851). The surname clans have taken turns as host since 1855.","source":"https://taiwangods.moi.gov.tw/html/cultural/3_0011.aspx?i=4","sourceLabel":"taiwangods.moi.gov.tw"},{"label":"Heritage status","value":"Designated a national Important Folk Custom on 29 January 2008 by the Council for Cultural Affairs, now the Ministry of Culture.","source":"https://taiwangods.moi.gov.tw/html/cultural/3_0011.aspx?i=4","sourceLabel":"taiwangods.moi.gov.tw"},{"label":"Host clan","value":"Fifteen surname associations rotate as chief host. In 2026 it was the Liu-Tang-Du association.","source":"https://www.nownews.com/news/6869444","sourceLabel":"nownews.com"}],"city_tabs":{"keelung":{"title":"Keelung (day trip from Taipei)","bullets":["On the night of the 14th, the lantern parade starts in the city and the lanterns are released late at night from the shore at Wanghai Lane, Badouzi","The main altar stands in Zhongzheng Park and is lit on the evening of the 12th","Miaokou Night Market is in the city centre, handy for dinner before the parade","Taiwan Railway trains from Taipei reach Keelung Station in 45 minutes to an hour","Intercity buses also run from Taipei Bus Station to Keelung"],"source":"https://www.nownews.com/news/6869444","sourceLabel":"nownews.com"}},"faq":[{"q":"When is the Keelung Ghost Festival 2027?","a":"It runs through the seventh lunar month, which in 2027 is 2–31 August. The water lantern release (14th day) is on the night of 15 August and the universal salvation (15th) on 16 August. In 2026 the release was on 26 August.","sources":["https://www.cwa.gov.tw/Data/astronomy/2027cal.pdf","https://www.nownews.com/news/6869444"]},{"q":"Where is the Keelung Ghost Festival held, and how do you get there?","a":"The rites take place at the Laodagong Temple, the main altar in Zhongzheng Park and Qing'an Temple in central Keelung, and the lanterns are released from the shore at Wanghai Lane in Badouzi. Trains from Taipei reach Keelung Station in 45 minutes to an hour, and intercity buses leave from Taipei Bus Station. The release is late at night, so a day trip depends on the last service back.","sources":["https://www.nownews.com/news/6869444"]},{"q":"What is the main event of the Keelung Ghost Festival?","a":"The water lantern release on the night of the 14th: floats carry each clan's lead lantern through the city, and the lanterns are pushed into the sea at Wanghai Lane. Over the month there is also the opening of the shrine gate on the 1st, the lighting of the main altar on the 12th, the Dipper lantern procession on the 13th, the universal salvation on the 15th and the closing of the gate on the 1st of the eighth month.","sources":["https://taiwangods.moi.gov.tw/html/cultural/3_0011.aspx?i=4","https://www.nownews.com/news/6869444"]},{"q":"What is the origin of the Keelung Ghost Festival?","a":"After a feud between Zhangzhou and Quanzhou settlers in Keelung in 1853, leaders of both sides made peace, buried the dead together as the \"Elder Lords\" and agreed that the surname clans would take turns hosting the festival, competing with performance troupes instead of fighting. The Ministry of the Interior also lists 1851 for the feud. The rotation began in 1855.","sources":["https://taiwangods.moi.gov.tw/html/cultural/3_0011.aspx?i=4"]},{"q":"Why are the water lanterns released?","a":"By tradition, spirits in the water cannot find their way during the seventh lunar month, so people on shore light lanterns to guide them to land, where the offerings of the universal salvation wait.","sources":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungry_Ghost_Festival"]},{"q":"What etiquette applies at the Keelung Ghost Festival?","a":"Stay quiet during the release, keep out of the officiants' way when taking photos and leave the offerings on the altars alone. Local Ghost Month taboos include not swimming and not calling out someone's name at night.","sources":["https://taiwangods.moi.gov.tw/html/cultural/3_0011.aspx?i=4"]}],"sources":["https://www.nownews.com/news/6869444","https://www.cna.com.tw/news/aloc/202608040162.aspx","https://www.cwa.gov.tw/Data/astronomy/2026cal.pdf","https://www.cwa.gov.tw/Data/astronomy/2027cal.pdf","https://taiwangods.moi.gov.tw/html/cultural/3_0011.aspx?i=4","https://nchdb.boch.gov.tw/assets/overview/folklore/20080129000001","https://eng.taiwan.net.tw/m1.aspx?sNo=0002020","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungry_Ghost_Festival"],"key_takeaways":[{"text":"The festival is a month of rites, not one night: the shrine gate opens on the 1st of the seventh lunar month, lanterns go out on the 14th, offerings on the 15th, and the gate closes on the 1st of the eighth.","date":"2026-08-26","scope":"festival","source_url":"https://taiwangods.moi.gov.tw/html/cultural/3_0011.aspx?i=4","source_label":"taiwangods.moi.gov.tw"},{"text":"Both editions span the seventh lunar month: 13 August–10 September in 2026 and 2–31 August in 2027, converted from the Central Weather Administration almanac.","date":"2026-08-26","scope":"festival","source_url":"https://www.cwa.gov.tw/Data/astronomy/2027cal.pdf","source_label":"cwa.gov.tw"},{"text":"By day, walk central Keelung to see the clan altars and the main altar in Zhongzheng Park, some six or seven tiers high, with every offering and paper effigy in a set place.","date":"2026-08-26","scope":"festival","source_url":"https://www.nownews.com/news/6869444","source_label":"nownews.com"}],"reading_outline":[{"id":"executive-summary","label":"Summary"},{"id":"facts","label":"Key facts"},{"id":"city-routes","label":"Places and routes"},{"id":"faq","label":"FAQ"},{"id":"planning","label":"Trip planning"}],"topic":{"chain":["trips","taiwan-festivals","keelung-ghost-festival","keelung-ghost-festival-2026"]},"status":"published","hero_image":{"src":"/hero/keelung-ghost-festival-2026.webp","alt":"Keelung Ghost Festival 2027: 2–31 August (seventh lunar month), water lanterns on the night of 15 August"},"editorial":{"tagline":"Each clan's lantern house is pushed into the sea at Wanghai Lane","paragraphs":["On the night of the 14th day of the seventh lunar month, floats carry each clan's lead water lantern through central Keelung and on to Wanghai Lane in Badouzi, where the lanterns are lit and pushed into the sea. In 2026 that night was 26 August, with the Liu-Tang-Du clan association as chief host; in 2027 it falls on a Sunday.","The rotation started as a truce. In 1853, the third year of the Xianfeng reign, Keelung's Zhangzhou and Quanzhou settlers fought with heavy losses (the Ministry of the Interior also lists 1851). Elders from both sides brokered peace, buried the dead together as the \"Elder Lords\" and agreed that the surname clans would take turns hosting the festival, competing with performance troupes rather than fists. The rotation began in 1855, and on 29 January 2008 the Council for Cultural Affairs, now the Ministry of Culture, designated the festival a national Important Folk Custom.","The lantern release is one rite in a month of them. Matched against the Central Weather Administration almanac for 2027: the shrine gate at the Laodagong Temple opens on the afternoon of the 1st of the month. The main altar in Zhongzheng Park is lit on 13 August, the Dipper lanterns are carried in procession the next day, the lanterns go out on the 14th and the universal salvation follows on 16 August. On 1 September, the 1st of the eighth month, the gate closes and the host's incense burner is handed over at Qing'an Temple.","Once pushed off the shore, the lead lanterns drift out on the current, lighting a path for the spirits in the water and calling them ashore for the next day's universal salvation."]},"guide":{"lede":"The lanterns go into the sea late on the night of the 14th, a Sunday in 2027, and Wanghai Lane is a bus ride from Keelung Station. With work the next day, sort out your late-night ride back to Taipei before you go, or stay over in Keelung.","sections":[{"heading":"Dates: the seventh lunar month in 2026 and 2027","body":"The festival runs through the seventh lunar month, with dates converted from the new moons in the Central Weather Administration almanac, so the Gregorian dates change every year; in 2027 the lantern release falls on a Sunday night.\n\nOne rite sits on each side of the month: the lamp-lighting at the Laodagong Temple on the night before the 1st, and the closing of the shrine gate on the 1st of the eighth month. Exact times are set by the year's host clan and Keelung City Government; in 2026 the city and the host clan presented the programme at a press conference on 4 August."},{"heading":"Lantern release times and the shuttle","body":"The 2026 schedule: participants gathered at 17:30, the city parade ran **19:00–22:00**, and the lead lanterns were released at **Wanghai Lane, Badouzi** at **23:00**. By tradition, spirits in the water lose their way in the seventh month, and the lanterns guide them ashore for the universal salvation.\n\nThe release site is on the coast, too far to walk from the city. In 2026 the host clan ran free shuttle buses to Wanghai Lane from a temporary stop at Keelung Cultural Plaza on Xinyi Road, starting at 21:30.\n\nOn release night in 2026 the road from Pinglang Bridge on Beining Road to Badouzi Station was closed from 21:00 to 01:00."},{"heading":"The main altar and clan altars","body":"The host clan builds the **main altar** in Zhongzheng Park and lights it on the evening of the 12th. Other clans set up altars around the city, some six or seven tiers high, with every offering and paper effigy in a set place. The altars are open to view by day, so the afternoon before the parade works well. People come to burn incense all month, so step around worshippers and leave the offerings alone."},{"heading":"Getting there and back","body":"Taiwan Railway trains from Taipei reach Keelung Station in 45 minutes to an hour, and intercity buses run from Taipei Bus Station, so getting to Keelung is easy. Getting back is the hard part: the lanterns go out late at night, and Wanghai Lane is a bus ride from Keelung Station. In 2027 the release is on a Sunday night before a working Monday, so check the late Sunday trains and buses to Taipei or book a room in Keelung."},{"heading":"Etiquette and Ghost Month taboos","body":"The officiants perform their rites on the shore during the release, so do not stand in front of them for photos or aim a flash at the ceremony. Leave the offerings on altars and tables alone. Local Ghost Month taboos include not swimming and not calling out someone's name at night."},{"heading":"If you can go only one night","body":"Pick the **14th, the lantern release**: clan altars in the afternoon, the parade in the evening and the release at Wanghai Lane late at night. To see the main altar fully laden for the universal salvation, go the following day. The **opening of the shrine gate** is on the afternoon of the 1st at the Laodagong Temple."}]},"kind":"festival","available_locales":["zh-TW","en","th","id"],"event_start_date":"2026-08-13","event_end_date":"2026-09-10","dates_estimated":false,"next_edition":{"start_date":"2027-08-02","end_date":"2027-08-31","estimated":false,"source":"https://www.cwa.gov.tw/Data/astronomy/2027cal.pdf"},"offers":[{"id":"heping-island","title":{"zh-TW":"和平島地質公園門票","en":"Heping Island Geopark ticket","th":"ตั๋วอุทยานธรณีเกาะเหอผิง","id":"Tiket Geopark Pulau Heping"},"merchant":"klook","utility":"ticket","landing_url":"https://www.voucherdata.asia/go/keelung-ghost-festival-2026?o=heping-island&locale=en&src=data","checked_at":"2026-10-13"},{"id":"keelung-islet","title":{"zh-TW":"基隆嶼登島：繞島・上燈塔・看象鼻岩","en":"Keelung Islet landing: island loop, lighthouse & Elephant Trunk Rock","th":"ขึ้นเกาะจีหลงอวี่: ล่องรอบเกาะ ประภาคาร และหินงวงช้าง","id":"Mendarat di Pulau Keelung: keliling pulau, mercusuar & Batu Belalai Gajah"},"merchant":"klook","utility":"experience","landing_url":"https://www.voucherdata.asia/go/keelung-ghost-festival-2026?o=keelung-islet&locale=en&src=data","checked_at":"2026-10-13"},{"id":"northeast-coast-tour","title":{"zh-TW":"東北角景點一日遊","en":"Northeast Coast day tour","th":"ทัวร์หนึ่งวันชายฝั่งตะวันออกเฉียงเหนือ","id":"Tur sehari Pantai Timur Laut"},"merchant":"klook","utility":"experience","landing_url":"https://www.voucherdata.asia/go/keelung-ghost-festival-2026?o=northeast-coast-tour&locale=en&src=data","checked_at":"2026-10-13"}]}