LEGO The City of Lanterns (80036)

Name: LEGO The City of Lanterns
Brand: LEGO
SKU: 80036

NINJAGO City energy in Monkie Kid colours, and honestly a bit of a bargain.

Brick Rated Score

4.0/5

Set 80036 · 2022

Pieces2,187

Minifigs7

Year2022

Set number80036

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The verdict

If you like stacked modular-style cities and do not mind whether you have watched a minute of Monkie Kid, this one is an easy yes.

You get 2,187 pieces for what was 149.99 dollars, a whole street of shops, a raised train, and stacks of tiny Easter eggs. I'll be straight with you though, the interiors are cramped and the stickers are relentless. Best for the builder who wants NINJAGO City vibes without the NINJAGO City price.

Best for: fans of stacked city builds who want a colourful, affordable alternative to NINJAGO City

The full review

What it is

The City of Lanterns is Monkie Kid's answer to NINJAGO City, and if that sentence made you sit up, you already know what you are in for. This LEGO set stacks eight little businesses onto a two-level structure with a raised sky train weaving around the whole thing. You get a LEGO toy shop, a hotel, the Speedy Panda store, two restaurants, a karaoke booth, and a bubble tea cafe, all in the bright colours the theme runs on. At 2,187 pieces it was the biggest Monkie Kid set ever made, and the best part is you do not need to have watched a single episode of the show to enjoy it. It reads as a colourful modern Asian city block first and a licensed set second, which is exactly why it pulled in fans who normally skip the theme entirely.

The catch

The stickers are a lot. There is a big sheet, and some of the tiniest ones are the LEGO store signage, so expect the build to slow to a crawl while you line those up with tweezers and a steady hand. The interiors are the other catch. Most of the shops are cramped and fairly bare inside, with barely room for furniture, and getting minifigures into the large central building is awkward even for small hands. The Lotus Hotel has no real way up to the top floor either, which stings a bit if you like rearranging your city into layouts that actually make sense. None of this is a dealbreaker, but if you are picturing deep, playable rooms like a proper modular building, reset those expectations. This is a display-forward streetscape with playability sprinkled on top.

Who it's for

Anyone who loves stacked, dense city builds and wants that NINJAGO City feeling without the eye-watering price should grab it. Builders who hunt for parts value will be happy, and anyone who grew up on classic LEGO will get a proper grin out of the Easter eggs. If you want big open interiors, tons of accurate show characters, or a set with zero stickers, this will frustrate you. And since it retired in December 2024, prices are only heading one way, so if it is on the shopping list, sooner beats later. For most people who like colourful cities, though, this is a genuinely lovely, underrated set that punches above its old price tag.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

The build runs in a satisfying modular rhythm. You knock out the base and the two-level backbone, then work through the little businesses one by one, which keeps things fresh because each shop has its own colour scheme and gimmick. Around four hours is a fair estimate, and that clock is padded out mostly by the sticker application rather than tricky technique. The engineering itself is friendly, aimed at the 9-plus age range, so there is nothing that will stump an experienced builder. The standout section is the raised train and its track curling around the city, plus Pigsy's buildable hot-air balloon and portable kitchen, which are fun little sub-builds in their own right.

For the parts hoarders, there is real reason to look. This was the debut of the new chopsticks element in sand yellow, and you get six of them, a piece that also spread into City and Friends the same year. There is a new flame-with-clip mould in trans-orange, a collectible dotted across the 2022 range. Recolour fans get a minifig neckwear bracket in dark turquoise and, the big one, 32 ingot pieces in dark green, a handy quantity if you MOC. Add seven minifigs (Monkie Kid, Mei, Pigsy, Mr. Tang, plus citizens Han and Huang and a train driver) and two buildable Citybot robots whose look nods back to a 1996 set, and the parts-per-dollar story holds up nicely.

Fun facts

01The LEGO toy shop inside the city has a wall of classic sets on display, including the 497 Galaxy Explorer, the 6285 Black Seas Barracuda, the 375 Castle, and the 700 Automatic Binding Bricks, one of the oldest LEGO products ever.
02There's a hidden nod to LEGO Island: one character is styled to resemble the Infomaniac, complete with the distinctive glasses and Infomaniac symbol.
03The two Citybot robots reuse a design first seen in the 1996 set 6494 Magic Mountain Time Lab, a deep cut for long-time collectors.
04At 2,187 pieces it was the largest Monkie Kid set made at the time, and each little train carriage actually fits a minifigure inside on smooth tiles so they lift out easily.