Oh, Sunday … first release is at 6:30 PM … every 10 minutes or so until 9:30 PM …
I was there yesterday as well and I didn’t find it to be that bad. I got into the middle school just fine and even found a nice spot to take a lot of pictures (on the roof overhanging the main entrance to the school).
I took the train from Luodong->Houtong->Pingxi and that way back and I even had seats on the train both ways.
I’ll be going back on Sunday probably … now going in close and see what I can do …
Anyways, I spent whole afternoon going back and forth by train between Jingdong and Shihfen, all trains were full, more than full … around 6:00PM I walked from Jingdong to Pingxi along the railway track more or less and ended up opposite the school across the river when they breleased the first batch early at around 6:20 PM… decided to stay there as I’ve seen the masses arrive in the afternoon and trying to avoid the fumes from the oil/kerosine used to light the lanterns … nice spot but not the best I figure …
Sunday better … I hope