Jurong Lake Gardens lights up for Mid-Autumn Festival
SINGAPORE – Colourful lanterns and illuminated installations are lighting up Jurong Lake Gardens, transforming it into a glowing Mid-Autumn wonderland.
Organised by the National Parks Board (NParks), the annual Lights by the Lake festival will run from Sept 19 to 27.
The 2026 displays are inspired by the Chinese folktale, The Legend Of The White Snake. The story is one of China’s four great folktales, and it tells of a romance between a mortal man and a female snake spirit.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Mooncake Festival, is traditionally a time for family reunions. Celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, it will fall on Sept 25 in 2026.
The nine-day festival spans the Chinese, Japanese and Lakeside gardens, with lantern displays, performances, concerts, heritage exhibitions and a food market.Visitors can take part in lantern-making activities by the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, attend movie screenings by Dementia Singapore for World Alzheimer’s Day and explore a lantern trail.
Mr Yeo Ruyun, who was at the preview on Sept 17 with his wife and two children, praised the dramatic and colourful visuals.
He said: “I am most impressed by the projection on the White Rainbow Bridge. There are also more cultural themes for this year’s displays.”
While the festival will run until Sept 27, the lantern and light displays will remain on show until Oct 4.
For more information, go to lightsbythelake.nparks.gov.sg
Across five scenes set along Lakeside Field, the lantern displays trace the story of Bai Suzhen – a white snake spirit who takes human form – and her fateful romance with the scholar Xu Xian, from their chance meeting on Broken Bridge to their eventual separation at the hands of the monk Fa Hai.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
The Lakeside Field features giant lantern displays tracing the legend of the white snake spirit and the various chapters from the story.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
The scene, Fateful Encounter On The Bridge, at the Lakeside Field. It depicts Bai Suzhen meeting Xu Xian, a humble scholar, at the Broken Bridge in Hangzhou on a rainy day.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
Projected images of floral designs illuminate the famous White Rainbow Bridge.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
The Lotus In Bloom display at the Sunken Garden. A vibrant wash of multicoloured lights transforms the Sunken Garden into a magical after-dark spectacle, dotted with delicate lotus lanterns that add festive warmth.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
A close-up of the huge lotus lanterns at the Sunken Garden.
At Resthouse Pond, colourful koi glide beneath floating lanterns in a graceful, shimmering display – drawing on the Japanese and Chinese symbolism of koi as emblems of prosperity, resilience and the steady flow of good fortune.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
Reflections of koi-shaped lanterns at Resthouse Pond in the Japanese Gardens.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
Bathed in the glow of the full moon, Princess Kaguya radiates elegance and tranquillity. A character from classic Japanese folklore, she is surrounded by blooming flowers, playful rabbits and drifting clouds, creating a dreamlike scene that celebrates beauty, peace and the magic of moonlit nights.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
Through a mesmerising fusion of projection, music and lantern light, the Cloud Pagoda transforms into a world of memory, longing and hope. As the barriers of time finally give way, Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian are reunited in this reimagined ending, and the garden glows with a radiant celebration of love, family and new beginnings.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
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