How many pieces and minifigures does Trotting Lantern have?

The set contains 1,295 pieces, including 232 distinct parts, plus 5 minifigures.

What does the set represent?

It's modelled on a zǒumǎdēng, a traditional Chinese running horse lantern whose silhouettes spin from candle heat. The build reflects that shape decoratively rather than replicating the spinning mechanism.

Who is this set aimed at?

Builders who enjoy culturally themed display pieces, plus anyone interested in Chinese festival traditions.

Chinese Traditional Festivals

Trotting Lantern

The Trotting Lantern set brings LEGO®'s Chinese Traditional Festivals line into a display piece built around a running horse lantern, a folk craft traditionally lit for lantern festivals. At 1,295 pieces with 5 minifigures, it's one of the larger builds in the range and reads more as a shelf piece than a play set.

Set number: 80116
Year: 2024
Pieces: 1,295
Minifigures: 5
Theme: Chinese Traditional Festivals
Different parts: 232

What can I build with it?

View the official building instructions at LEGO® ↗

Parts list 232

As BrickLink list (XML)

Import on BrickLink: Wanted → Upload, upload the file (or paste its content), pick a Wanted List and add the parts.

Spare parts (34)

These extra parts come with the set in case one gets lost.

Minifigures 5

Bright Light Blue Torso, Dark Blue Legs, Black Hair fig-0156924 pieces × 1
Dark Turquoise Torso, Medium Nougat Legs, Black Hair fig-0156934 pieces × 1
Kid, White Torso, Sand Blue Legs, Black Hair fig-0156944 pieces × 1
Snake Costume, Red Torso, Dark Red Legs fig-0156954 pieces × 1
Kid, Dark Turquoise Torso, Medium Nougat Legs, Black Hair fig-0156964 pieces × 1

Description

A folk craft turned into bricks

The running horse lantern, known in Chinese as zǒumǎdēng, is a centuries-old craft object: heat from a candle spins an inner screen carrying horse silhouettes, throwing moving shadows onto the outer shade. Lanterns like this traditionally appear during lantern festivals that follow Chinese New Year, tied to themes of movement, luck and the turn of the year. The set reworks that idea in brick form, pairing a decorated base with a central lantern body and figures that nod to the original's spinning motion rather than reproducing the mechanism itself.

Colours and the build itself

Red, pearl gold, bright light orange and dark blue dominate the palette, echoing the festive colour language of Chinese celebrations, where red and gold traditionally stand for luck and prosperity. Across 232 distinct parts, the build alternates between fiddly ornamental sections and sturdier structural ones, so decoration and framework come together in stages rather than all at once. At 1,295 pieces total, it's a project that spans several sessions rather than a quick afternoon build, and it sits closer to a display model than a vehicle or building set.

Minifigures and reusing the parts

The 5 minifigures give the lantern a human scale, standing in as family or festival-goers rather than driving any built-in play function. Working through the full parts list on this page makes it easy to spot which colour families and specialty pieces suit other projects, whether that's building a second lantern, smaller festival decorations, or your own take on the theme using the same palette. It's a useful reference before ordering extra bricks for a follow-up build.

Who it suits

Trotting Lantern suits builders who enjoy display-focused projects outside the usual vehicles and buildings, and anyone with an interest in East Asian festival culture. At just over 1,300 pieces, it's substantial enough to fill several evenings without reaching the scale of a flagship model, which also makes it a reasonable gift around Chinese New Year.

FAQ

How many pieces and minifigures does Trotting Lantern have?: The set contains 1,295 pieces, including 232 distinct parts, plus 5 minifigures.
What does the set represent?: It's modelled on a zǒumǎdēng, a traditional Chinese running horse lantern whose silhouettes spin from candle heat. The build reflects that shape decoratively rather than replicating the spinning mechanism.
Who is this set aimed at?: Builders who enjoy culturally themed display pieces, plus anyone interested in Chinese festival traditions.

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