Taipei 101's 2026 National Day show starts at 22:00 on Saturday 10 October. The tower and Taipei City Government are staging it together under the title Onward Taiwan. STAGE@TAIPEI 101, the operator's own page, puts the drones and fireworks over Taipei World Trade Center Hall 1 and the Grand Hyatt, not over the tower itself. That is why Elephant Mountain is not on the official viewing list this year.
The programme is 14 minutes. Official graphics on the 101 page break it as 1 minute of opening fireworks, 10 minutes of drone work, then 3 minutes of closing fireworks. Last year's drone count was 500. This year the operator is using 600. Chairman Jia Yong-jie has already said that number is close to what Xinyi District's towers will allow. If wind or rain stops the drones, the same page says the show switches to fireworks only.
The observatory closes an hour before the show
You cannot watch this from floor 89. For 10 October the mall runs 11:00 to 21:30. The observatory runs 10:00 to 21:00, with ticket sales stopping at 20:15. Office-tower doors go onto access control at 18:00. The show starts at 22:00, so anyone still in the building at 21:00 is already being moved out. Treat the mall as a daytime stop, not a viewing deck.
The free outdoor show is the point. 101's page names two spots: Taipei City Hall Civic Plaza on Xinren'ai Road, and Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. City Hall is closer to the drones. Memorial Hall is farther back, which is the angle photographers want if they need the whole tower plus the air show in one frame. The operator's YouTube channel will stream it if you skip the crowd.
Xinyi is already full that Saturday
City Hall's traffic bureau is treating 10 October as a stacked day, not a quiet fireworks night. Morning National Day flag-raising sits on Civic Plaza. PokéXciting! in Taipei occupies Xiangti Plaza in the same district from 11:00 to 19:00. BIGBANG is at Taipei Dome. The bureau's own notice says Xinyi will take a large extra load of people and cars, and that some car parks will raise rates. If you only care about 22:00, arrive after the Pokémon booths close and before the 21:00 road lock.
Take the Bannan Line (Blue) to Taipei City Hall Station and walk to Civic Plaza. For Memorial Hall, get off at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Station on the same line. 101's page tells people not to aim for Taipei 101/World Trade Center Station as their main stop. That station will have crowd control, and Exit 4 shuts in the second traffic phase.
Two road phases, then a hard close
From 21:00 to 21:40, cars on Songshou Road between City Hall Road and Songzhi Road, City Hall Road between Songshou and Xinyi, Songzhi Road between Songshou and Xinyi, Xinyi Road between Zhuangjing and Songzhi, and the westbound stretch of Xinyi Road between Songzhi and Songren may only leave. City Hall Road between Songgao and Songshou is closed to cars and opened for people to stand. Staff start asking pedestrians off the pavements around Taipei 101 and Nanshan A21, and off the three skybridges toward the Hyatt, the World Trade Center, and ATT/Nanshan.
From 21:40 to 22:30 those same streets close. Pedestrians are banned from those pavements and skybridges, not just asked to move. MRT Taipei 101/World Trade Center Station Exit 4 stays shut through that window. Use Exits 1, 2, 3, or 5. If you are still walking toward the tower at 21:40 you will hit a wall of cones. Be on Civic Plaza or at Memorial Hall before that.
Do not drive unless you already have a reason to be in a hotel or mall garage. 101's parking chart suspends or redirects exits at City Hall government parking, Civic Plaza underground parking, Grand Hyatt, Xinyi Square, Taipei 101's own garage, World Trade Center Hall 1 loading, and several nearby lots between 21:00 and 22:30. Nanshan Breeze parking stays open but exit is limited toward Songren Road. Taipei City also bans private drones over a marked Xinyi zone from 17:00 to midnight. The penalty cited in city coverage is up to NT$300,000 under the Civil Aviation Act.
Check the 101 page again on the afternoon of the 10th. Drones are the first thing to drop if the wind comes up. The fireworks backup is already written into the official notice, so a last-minute change is not a rumour.
Practical Details
- Dates: Saturday 10 October 2026
- Time: 22:00, about 14 minutes
- Show: 1 minute opening fireworks, 10 minutes of 600 drones, 3 minutes closing fireworks. Drones may be dropped for safety.
- Where the show flies: above Taipei World Trade Center Hall 1 and Grand Hyatt Taipei, Xinyi District
- Watch from: Taipei City Hall Civic Plaza, or Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. Not the observatory, not Elephant Mountain on the official list.
- Nearest MRT: Taipei City Hall Station (Bannan Line) for Civic Plaza. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Station for the memorial grounds. Taipei 101/World Trade Center Station Exit 4 closed 21:40 to 22:30.
- Mall that day: 11:00 to 21:30. Observatory 10:00 to 21:00, last tickets 20:15. Office tower doors from 18:00.
- Price: outdoor viewing is free. Observatory tickets are separate and useless for the 22:00 show.
- Stream: Taipei 101 official YouTube channel
- Website: STAGE@TAIPEI 101 National Day show notice
