The Asian Lantern Festival at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

The lantern festival is true spectacle. It's a great place to take family and friends. My grandmother came along, we were able to rent her a wheelchair, and every lantern and animal exhibit is wheelchair accessible. The lanterns are a brilliant display of Chinese culture, of wildlife, and of craftsmanship. I highly recommend taking the trip out to the zoo!


[Below is taken from ClevelandMetroparks.com]


Asian Lantern Festival is designed for everyone to enjoy – from a family outing, romantic date or coworker get-together. Hundreds of lanterns are placed across several destinations of the Zoo including the Welcome Plaza, African Savanna, Wilderness Trek, Asian Highlands, Waterfowl Lake and more. This year’s festival features more than 40 all-new, large-scaled illuminated displays featuring hundreds of individual and interactive lanterns. These include a walk-through 100 foot long shark tunnel, 30 foot tall giant panda and an expansive display of Chinese pagodas. New live acrobatic performances based on traditional Chinese practices can be seen on the Fifth Third Bank stage each night including contortion, foot juggling, martial arts, dances and balancing and acrobatic acts. Performances will be held nightly at 6:45, 7:45, 8:45 and 9:45 p.m. Each performance will total approximately 15 to 20 minutes.


Dates and Times: Sunday, Jul 21, 2019, 6:30 PM - 10:30 PM Thursday, Jul 25, 2019, 6:30 PM - 10:30 PM Friday, Jul 26, 2019, 6:30 PM - 10:30 PM Saturday, Jul 27, 2019, 6:30 PM - 10:30 PM Sunday, Jul 28, 2019, 6:30 PM - 10:30 PM

(click photo to enlarge)

  • Welcome to the Asian Lantern Festival!

  • At the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, there are tons of Asian lanterns, live performances, animals, and interactive displays! Tickets can be purchased online!

  • My father, Mark Stewart, admiring the field of flower lanterns.

  • Dandelion lanterns

  • A bald eagle

  • A red panda lantern

  • A snow leopard enjoys the cool evening

  • My grandmother, Ann Pi, translates the scroll to reveal its message about animal conservation and protecting the environment.

  • A polar bear atop a glacier

  • A pat of flamingo lanterns lines the walkway.

  • Chinese opera lanterns

  • Find the year in which you were born in, and take a picture with your Chinese zodiac animal. Each animal has a description of your personality traits!

  • Be careful walking through the dinosaur lanterns!

  • A piece from a beautiful walkway.

  • The fish exhibit is bubbly and whimsical.

  • Mammoths once again walk among us.

  • In a while, crocodile!

  • A pair of birds look up at the moon.

  • A picture can't do this magnificent temple justice!

  • Explosions of color line the trees in the zoo.

  • A mesmerizing display of colors!

  • Walk through a massive shark without getting eaten!

  • The terracotta army in vibrant colors.

  • A panda playground exhibit.

  • A couple swings at the light-up swings.

  • My cousin, Erica Pi, enjoys the swings.

  • Swirling displays that twirl!

  • A sabertooth tiger

  • The illumination from the lanterns is great for a sci-fi look when taking pictures!

  • Try to find the bear in the brush on your walk -- it's very hidden!

  • Plenty of glowing tunnels and walkways!

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