• Date: Late January to mid-February

Lunar New Year is the most important festival in the Taiwanese calendar, and the one most likely to affect a traveller’s plans significantly. The fifteen-day celebration begins on the first day of the first lunar month and culminates in the Lantern Festival. The period of peak travel is the week before and after New Year’s Day, when the majority of Taiwanese people return to their home towns and cities — creating a phenomenon sometimes described as the Taiwan’s largest annual human migration.

For travellers, this has practical implications: intercity transport is extremely busy and should be booked far in advance; many small businesses and restaurants close for several days around New Year’s Day; and if you are not visiting family, you may find some quieter neighbourhoods feel rather still. On the other hand, the celebrations themselves — lion and dragon dances, temple ceremonies, fireworks, and the general festive atmosphere — are spectacular. Taipei’s Dihua Street becomes a bustling New Year market selling traditional foods, dried goods, and festive decorations for weeks beforehand.

The reunion dinner on New Year’s Eve is the emotional centre of the festival: a family gathering around a table of symbolic dishes. Travellers are unlikely to witness this intimately, but if you have Taiwanese friends or are staying with a host family, an invitation is a significant honour.