Taiwan January 2026 Events & Festivals / Taipei January Events

Heading to Taiwan in January? As well as the build up to Lunar New Year in February and shopping sales, there are lots of Taipei events in January 2026 plus Taiwan events nationwide.

From cool concerts to cherry blossoms (like Lohas Cherry Blossom Festival), there is an array of eclectic January events in Taipei and Taiwan this new year.

Also, come and meet us (Neil and Caroline) at an exclusive Cookinn cooking class in Taipei making xiao long bao and beef noodle soup!

Here is our pick of the best Taipei events in January 2026 plus other January events in Kaohsiung, Lishan and more.

This article was originally published on 5 July 2024.

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Table of Contents

Does Taiwan celebrate New Year’s Day?

New Year’s Day (Republic Day) falls on 1 January in Taiwan and is celebrated as a public holiday.

As it falls on a weekday in 2026 (Thursday 1 January), locals are only entitled to one day but many will take more days off to celebrate it.

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January Sales in Taiwan

Many of the major shopping malls in Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung and the other major cities will be having big winter sales that kick off from late December and run across January 2026.

Expect big discounts at Taiwan retailers like Eslite, Carrefour and NET fashion stores.

One of the biggest concentration of malls in Taiwan for the best winter sales has to be the Xinyi District, which has massive malls like Taipei 101 Shopping center, Breeze and various branches of Shin Kong Mitsukoshi which also has Taiwan’s flagship Pokémon store.

You might like – The 20 best shopping malls and districts in Taipei >

Lohas Cherry Blossom Festival 2026

Late January 2026 to mid February 2026

Accessible by MRT in Taipei’s Neihu District, make time to visit the Neighou River’s famous Lohas Cherry Blossom Festival for an incredible show of sakura.

We were lucky enough to visit the Lohas Park Cherry Blossom festival last year in late January at full bloom.

During the winter evenings, lights illuminate this top Taipei cherry blossom spot and the Lohas Cherry Blossom Festival 2026 is free to visit.

Please note the cherry blossom schedule for Taiwan varies so this may begin in early February but some blooms should start in January as they did in 2025.

You might like – Our guide to Elephant Mountain (Xiangshan): 4 easy viewpoints of Taipei >

Xiao Long Bao & Beef Noodles Cooking Class with Taiwanderers and Cookinn

27 January 2026 | 9.20am-12.30am

Join Neil and Caroline – founders of Taiwanderers.com and the Taiwan Travel Tips (TTT) Facebook group for a fun cooking class with Cookinn.

During the 3-hour class, you will learn to create (and taste) four signature dishes: xiao long bao, braised beef noodle soup, smashed cucumber salad and bubble milk tea (vegetarian menu also available). The class will be hosted by Chelsea Tsai – founder of Cookinn and author of Taste Taiwan.

Price: Special discounted price of NTD 2,500/per person (normally NTD 2,650/per person)
Language: English, Mandarin Chinese
Location: 2F, No. 66, Sec. 1, Chengde Road., Datong District, Taipei City 103, Taiwan (map)

You can book the cooking class here >

Please note: A minimum number of 8 people is needed to run the class.

Taipei 101 Climb by Alex Honnold (free to watch)

24 January 2026 (or watch globally on Netflix)

Around 8am (Taiwan time) on 24 January 2026, free-climber Alex Honnold will scale the exterior of Taipei 101 in 2 hours flat with no ropes or no safety harness (eek).

Ahead of him lies over 1,600 feet of skyscraper and 101 floors to climb – if it were us, we’d just take the elevator (!) but all praise Alex for this ambitious attempt.

We are lucky enough to be watching this live in Xinyi on 24 January but you can also stream it on Netflix in a segment called Skyscraper Live, a two-hour global event.

You might like – More things to in Xinyi including Taipei’s highest coffee shop, Simple Kaffa Sola

Guguan / Lishan Light Art Festival

Until 11 January 2026 in Guguan, and until 25 January in Lishan

The annual Lishan Guguan Light Art Festival is usually on until mid January, located in the Lishan Scenic Area located between Hualien and Taichung.

It features one of Taiwan’s tallest Christmas trees (almost 30 meters in height) with winter illuminations at Guguan Park, the Guguan Visitor Center and the local streets. This is set to be one of Taiwan’s most ‘lit’ events in January 2026!

Official event website >

Crayon Shinchan “Playful! Time-Traveling Adventure” Exhibition

10 January to 4 April 2026

The world’s largest Crayon Shin-chan exhibition arrives in Taipei from 10 January 2026, including interactive games, character selfie spots, immersive experiences and more!

Located at Huashan 1914 Creative Park, explore 7 classic Crayon Shin-chan movie themed zones, 9 epic interactive games and an amazing overview of over 35 years of classic Crayon Shin Chan moments – and yes, loads of gifts and exclusive merchandise are available too.

Buy on Klook >

Check out our Taipei neighbourhoods guides:
Beitou >
Dihua Street and Dadaocheng >
Gongguan and Longquan >
Tamsui >
Ximending >
Xinyi >
Zhongshan >

Also check out our guide to the best neighbourhoods in Taipei >

2026 Dihua Street Lunar New Year Market

31 January to 15 February 2026

The Lunar New Year 2025 in Taiwan brings good fortune for many – one of the best places to experience the Lunar New Year in Taipei is Dihua Street in the Dadaocheng District.

As well as the temples being awash with red lanterns (especially Taipei Xia-Hai City God Temple) and the constant smoke and bangs of fire-crackers being set off, Dihua Street plays host to a huge Lunar New Year market along its historic main road.

Please note the Dihua Street Lunar New Market 2026 takes place the fortnight BEFORE Lunar New Year itself which falls on Tuesday 17 February 2026 – check out our Taipei Lunar New Year 2026 activities guide >

Our guide to Taipei’s Dihua Street during Lunar New Year >

Taiwan January 2026 Concerts

There are lots of Taiwan concerts in January 2026 including:

Air Supply
7 January 2026 at Taipei International Convention Center

Energy
10 January 2026 at Taipei Arena

Super Junior (K-Pop)
24 January 2026 at Kaohsiung Arena

Calum Scott
31 January 2026 at Kaohsiung Arena

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Upcoming February 2026 Taiwan Events

Whilst January 2026 is a relatively quiet month in Taiwan and Taipei for events, February 2026 will bring:

2026 Dihua Street Lunar New Year Market – the first two weeks in February 2026
2026 Taichung Mazu International Festival – February 2026 dates TBC
2026 Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival – mid February 2026

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