LEGO annually unveils themed sets to honor the Lunar New Year. For the 2021 Year of the Ox, they created a Spring Festival scene within a classic garden setting. The 2024 Year of the Dragon brought the magnificent LEGO Auspicious Dragon, designed as a bronze statue on an ornamental stand.
$129.95 at Amazon | $129.99 at LEGO Store
For the upcoming Year of the Snake in 2025, LEGO presents three commemorative sets. The series includes a Lucky Cat model and a Good Fortune collection featuring Chinese motifs like decorative fans, calligraphy tools, and golden ingots. We've built and photographed the crowning jewel of this lineup - an intricate recreation of a traditional trotting lantern that reveals delightful surprises beyond its initial appearance.
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The exterior craftsmanship demands admiration - this model showcases extravagant detailing throughout. Every component features decorative elements, from suspended red lanterns to gilded trim along wall borders, with landscape murals framed by rock formations completing the lavish aesthetic.
Constructing this lantern involves meticulous layering techniques. The process begins with assembling the basic framework, followed by adding successive decorative overlays. This progressive detailing creates delightful anticipation - similar to the now-retired LEGO Carousel - as each new layer reveals increasingly intricate design elements.
Historically dating back to the Han Dynasty, authentic trotting lanterns used oil lamp illumination to project paper silhouette shadows while heat-driven propellers created rotational movement. LEGO designers have ingeniously recreated a simplified version of this mechanism using a light brick system and rotating imagery projection.
While the packaging suggests wall projection capabilities, our tests yielded disappointingly blurry results - an advertised feature that seems unnecessary given that historical lanterns never performed this function. The true marvel lies in the lantern's upper chamber, which conceals three miniature dioramas: a dumpling stall, decoration vendor, and shadow puppet theater. This clever spatial illusion resembles a hidden Polly Pocket scene within the cylindrical structure.
The set includes five detailed minifigures (one sporting a snake headgear) along with delightful accessories like dumpling plates, red envelopes, shadow puppets, and chopstick sets. Your purchase decision may hinge on which features appeal most: While the lighting mechanism falls short of expectations, the overall aesthetic brilliance and hidden interior scenes create a breathtaking Lunar New Year display. Although marketed for ages 9+, the complexity and sophistication suggest an 18+ build.
For more LEGO inspiration, explore our recommendations for top-rated sets, including best Marvel collections and premium offerings.
The LEGO Trotting Lantern (Set #80116) contains 1,295 pieces and retails for $129.99. Available now through Amazon and official LEGO stores.
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