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

LEGO celebrates the Lunar New Year annually with themed sets. The 2021 (Year of the Ox) set featured a Spring Festival scene in a traditional garden, while 2024 (Year of the Dragon) offered the LEGO Auspicious Dragon, a bronze statue replica. 2025, the Year of the Snake, sees three new releases: a Lucky Cat, a Good Fortune set showcasing 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 far more than meets the eye. Its exterior is exquisitely detailed, boasting red lanterns, gold detailing, and beautifully rendered cloud and rock scenes on the walls. The building process itself is a layered delight, adding details upon details, reminiscent of the now-retired LEGO Carousel in its anticipatory joy and complexity.

Inspired by Han Dynasty lanterns, the LEGO version incorporates a clever mechanism. A rotating rod activates a light brick, illuminating a clear piece with a black-lined image, projecting it onto the lantern's side. While the advertised wall projection is blurry, the rotating image within the lantern is a charming feature.

The lantern's upper section opens to reveal three delightful dioramas: a dumpling stall, a decorations stall, and a shadow puppet theater—a clever surprise hidden within. 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 and rotation mechanism isn't groundbreaking, the stunning aesthetics and hidden dioramas make it a captivating Lunar New Year celebration. Its intricate detail suggests an 18+ build despite its 9+ age rating.

Explore our selections for the best LEGO sets overall, the best Marvel LEGO sets, and the most expensive LEGO sets. The LEGO Trotting Lantern (Set #80116), containing 1295 pieces, retails for $129.99 and is available now at Amazon and the LEGO Store.