KL Tower Lantern Parade Sets Malaysia Record at 394 Metres Above Sea Level

More than 150 people join a celebration above Kuala Lumpur

KL Tower hosted a Mid Autumn lantern parade at 394 metres above sea level on Sunday, October 5, 2025, earning recognition from the Malaysia Book of Records as the highest lantern parade of its kind in the country. More than 150 participants and visitors joined the celebration on the landmark's open air Sky Terrace, carrying lanterns against the Kuala Lumpur skyline.

LSH Service Master Sdn Bhd organised the event as a cultural showcase intended to introduce the Mooncake Festival, a traditional celebration among the Chinese community, to a wider multiracial audience. Families, guests and hobbyists combined a familiar festive activity with views from one of the capital's best known attractions.

Malaysia Book of Records representative Menaga Vadamalai presented the certificate to Tan Sri Lim Keng Cheng, chairman of LSH Capital Berhad. The presentation formally recognised the achievement and highlighted the participation of private sector partners in cultural programming.

Visitors also used the tower's glass Sky Box to capture photographs and videos while holding their lanterns. The setting brought together three parts of the evening: a national record based on elevation, a celebration of Chinese heritage, and a tourism experience overlooking the city.

How the parade reached its record height

The Malaysia Book of Records documents national firsts and bests across many fields, including culture. For the KL Tower parade, altitude was the key measure. The recognised elevation was 394 metres above sea level, reflecting both the height of Bukit Nanas hill and the position of the Sky Terrace on the tower.

KL Tower itself stands 421 metres tall. That figure describes the structure's height, while the parade's 394 metres describes the venue's elevation relative to sea level. Bukit Nanas raises the tower's starting point above the surrounding streets, so understanding the record requires looking at both the hill and the viewing level.

The tower is among the tallest towers in the world. Its viewing platforms provide broad views across Kuala Lumpur, with open air areas allowing visitors to see the cityscape without an enclosed room around them. Holding a lantern parade there gave a customary community activity an unusual location high above the capital.

Menaga's attendance formed part of the recognition process. The Malaysia Book of Records representative attended to verify the category and present the certificate, bringing the record claim and its formal acknowledgement together at the event.

A lantern walk with room for creativity

Participants carried their lanterns through the viewing areas, but the programme also encouraged them to show their own creative ideas. Organisers invited imaginative lantern designs and decoration, making the gathering a friendly showcase for craftsmanship as well as a walk.

Classic paper lanterns and modern LED designs represented the colourful range associated with Mid Autumn celebrations. LED lanterns use electric lights, while the paper versions retain the familiar appearance seen at traditional lantern walks. Both styles contributed to the evening's display.

Families posed for photographs as the lanterns glowed against the night view. The capital's mix of heritage districts and modern towers framed the celebration, giving participants a setting that combined a longstanding custom with the appearance of contemporary Kuala Lumpur.

Guests alternated between the terrace and the Sky Box to record their visit. For hobbyists and people creating photographs or videos for social media, the combination of lanterns, glass viewing areas and the skyline provided an immediate visual attraction.

Why the organisers wanted a wider audience

Khairil Faizal Othman, chief executive officer of LSH Service Master Sdn Bhd, said the programme was designed to increase awareness of Mid Autumn traditions beyond the Chinese community. The intention was to make the celebration welcoming to Malaysians from different backgrounds while also appealing to visitors drawn to the capital's skyline and nightlife.

The festival's simple public format helped support that aim: people could carry a lantern, gather at a familiar landmark and enjoy the view together. A tradition associated with one community became an opportunity for a broader audience to take part and learn about its meaning.

Khairil connected the initiative to preparations for Visit Malaysia Year 2026, a national tourism campaign intended to attract international visitors and encourage travel within Malaysia. The lantern parade gave the tower a cultural activity to place alongside its established sightseeing attractions.

After describing the management team's plans, Khairil outlined his ambition for Menara KL, another name used for KL Tower:

This is just the beginning. We intend to make Menara KL a central venue for programmes that appeal to both international tourists and local communities.

His statement placed local participation and international tourism within the same programme. The intended audience included residents looking for a shared celebration as well as travellers seeking an experience beyond a conventional visit to a viewing platform.

What the Mooncake Festival celebrates

Mid Autumn, also called the Mooncake Festival, is one of the most celebrated occasions in the lunar calendar across East and Southeast Asia. It usually falls in September or October, when the full moon appears at its brightest. The lunar calendar follows the moon's cycle, which helps explain the festival's close connection with the moon.

Families gather for evening meals, exchange mooncakes and carry lanterns. The lanterns symbolise unity, reunion and hope for good fortune, while the gathering itself places family and togetherness at the centre of the celebration.

Malaysia gives the festival its own local flavours. Neighbourhoods and public spaces host lantern walks, often with children carrying bright paper lanterns. Bakeries sell mooncakes that combine Chinese recipes with local ingredients, bringing familiar tastes into a traditional festive food.

Pandan, durian and fillings infused with tea appear alongside classic lotus seed paste and salted egg yolk. That range gives shoppers several ways to take part in the custom of sharing mooncakes, from established recipes to versions shaped by local preferences.

Many Malaysian Mid Autumn events welcome people from all communities, making the festival a shared cultural meeting point in a diverse society. At KL Tower, the record height changed the setting, while the lanterns, family photographs and evening gathering kept the celebration close to its traditional focus.

How the viewing areas supported the event

The organising team worked with the tower operator to schedule the parade during the festival period and use signature locations, including the Sky Terrace and Sky Box. The open air arrangement gave participants space to walk and handle their lanterns, while crews guided visitors between the viewing areas.

The Sky Box is a glass enclosure extending from the Sky Deck. Its glass floor and walls allow visitors to look directly down towards the streets and parks below, creating a different perspective from the wider skyline view available on the terrace.

KL Tower also offers indoor viewing areas and the open air Sky Deck. Together, these spaces provide several ways to experience the city, from panoramic sightseeing to the more direct downward view through the Sky Box.

During the parade, moving between those locations allowed guests to vary their photographs and videos while remaining part of the same celebration. More than 150 people attended as visitors, families and hobbyists, with the lantern walk and high vantage point combining to create a distinctive memory of the evening.

A communications tower with a cultural role

KL Tower, also known as Menara Kuala Lumpur, is both a communications tower and a major visitor attraction. Its location on Bukit Nanas, one of the city's oldest forest reserves, adds a natural setting beneath a structure known for panoramic urban views.

The tower's viewing spaces have become familiar backdrops for lifestyle photography, tourism campaigns and special events. The lantern parade used those existing attractions as a stage for participation, giving visitors something to do together as well as a skyline to observe.

The new management team took over operations in April 2025 and has signalled a focus on activities connecting culture, entertainment and tourism. Its approach is to fill the calendar with experiences at the tower, including programmes associated with national initiatives such as Visit Malaysia Year 2026.

More events at night and activities suitable for families are expected under that direction. The lantern parade fits the plan by pairing a longstanding tradition with a contemporary setting that visitors can photograph and share on social media.

From the April takeover to the 2026 tourism campaign

The lantern parade sits within a sequence that began with the change in tower operations and extends towards Malaysia's national tourism campaign. The main dates are:

• April 2025: The new management team took over KL Tower operations.
• October 5, 2025: The Mid Autumn lantern parade took place at 394 metres above sea level and received Malaysia Book of Records recognition.
• 2026: Visit Malaysia Year aims to attract international arrivals and encourage domestic travel.

Organisers said they wanted to repeat and expand similar activities in the months ahead, including more opportunities for creative lantern design and community participation. No date was given for another lantern parade.

For visitors, that planned direction means a tower calendar with more cultural experiences alongside sightseeing. For local communities, it offers opportunities to join celebrations at a landmark often associated with tourism and skyline photography.

A familiar tradition in a new setting

Early reaction to the parade reflected enthusiasm for cultural events that invite people to participate. For parents, the appeal lay in an activity described as safe and suitable for photographs. For lantern hobbyists and content creators, the attraction was the chance to combine their work with an unusual view of the capital.

The event also offered a short introduction to heritage. Learning about Mid Autumn can encourage people to explore other celebrations in Kuala Lumpur's calendar, including Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Deepavali and Christmas. Open houses and performances are familiar parts of many of those occasions.

KL Tower's contribution was to place a traditional lantern walk within a major tourism landmark and secure a national record for its height. The evening added another cultural experience to the city's calendar during preparations for 2026, while keeping family participation and togetherness at its centre.

What to Know

• KL Tower hosted the lantern parade on Sunday, October 5, 2025, at 394 metres above sea level.
• The Malaysia Book of Records recognised it as the highest lantern parade of its kind in the country.
• More than 150 participants and visitors joined the celebration, using the Sky Terrace and Sky Box.
• LSH Service Master Sdn Bhd organised the programme to introduce Mid Autumn traditions to a wider multiracial audience.
• Menaga Vadamalai presented the record certificate to LSH Capital Berhad chairman Tan Sri Lim Keng Cheng.
• The event supported the tower management's cultural programming and preparations for Visit Malaysia Year 2026.