China Lights lantern display is back at Boerner Botanical Gardens

The China Lights lantern display has returned to Hales Corners’ Boerner Botanical Gardens for an eighth year starting tonight.

China Lights’ display will feature over 40 different installations conducive with this year’s magical forest theme. In addition to the light displays, China Lights will also feature nightly shows including hat juggling, face changing and balancing. Shows will last 30 minutes each and will begin at 6:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., and 9:00 p.m., according to China Lights’ website.

The event will also offer a variety of Asian and Western foods from vendors including EZ Tiki, Gift of Wings Grill, Mil-wok-ee Asian Street, Tanpopo, T. Best Kettle Korn and Uyghur Grill.

China Lights will be open at the gardens from Friday, Sept. 12 to Sunday, Nov. 2 and will be open every Tuesday – Sunday from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. The event is presented by Tri-City Bank and is created in partnership with Milwaukee County Parks and Tianyu Arts & Culture, a subsidiary of Sichuan Tianyu Culture Communication Company.

Each year, roughly 100,000 people come to visit the event generating roughly $500,000 in revenue for the park, Andrea Wallace, assistant director of recreation and business services for Milwaukee County Parks, told BizTimes last year.

Last year, 130,000 people visited the park for the light display.

China Lights first came to Milwaukee County in 2016. After a two year hiatus from 2020 to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event returned to the gardens and is now contracted to come back annually through 2026.

“While we don’t have a written agreement in place at this point, both parties (Tianyu and County) have strong intentions to continue the partnership,” said Huiyuan Liu, Tianyu Arts & Culture event manager.

See photos of China Lights in years past: