Forbidden City: Tickets, Palace Route and Practical Visit Planning

The Forbidden City is both an imperial palace and the home of the Palace Museum. Its great halls stand along one straight axis, with gardens and small palaces tucked away behind them. Reserve your place first, choose a realistic route and plan your exit before you add another stop.

The decisions to make before you go

Allow a half day for the main route and one gallery; a closer look at the collections can fill most of the day. Count the approach, security and breaks as well as the walking between halls.

Official reservations: seven days before, not at the gate

Reservations open at 20:00 Beijing time seven days before your visit. The museum does not sell same-day tickets.^[1] Book through the official Palace Museum mini-program or the foreign-visitor booking site.^[2] The Palace Museum visitor rules set out the details. Popular dates can sell out, so book as soon as the slot opens.

Every visitor needs a real-name reservation, including children, people with concessions and accompanying adults. Foreign visitors book with their passport, and one document can reserve only one ticket per visit day. Bring the original of the document you booked with, because it is checked at Wumen.^[1] Foreign visitors enter their passport number during online booking.^[2]

Reservations come in morning and afternoon sessions. A morning booking checks in by 12:00 at the latest, and an afternoon booking cannot check in before 11:00.^[1] Arrive within your session and before the last entry of the day.

The museum has not authorised any third party to sell its tickets or exhibition reservations, so book only through the official channel.^[1] A guided tour bought elsewhere does not guarantee entry.

Unused tickets can be cancelled through the original booking channel until 24:00 on the day before your visit without penalty. A later cancellation, including on the day itself, counts as a missed reservation. Three missed reservations within 180 days lead to a 60-day booking ban.^[1]

Seasonal hours and an adult ticket budget

The standard timetable and full adult prices are per person, in CNY, and cover museum admission only, not guides or transport.^[2]

A full-price adult who sees both paid galleries pays CNY 80 from April to October or CNY 60 from November to March. A gallery ticket does not extend the museum's final-entry time.^[3]

The museum is closed on Mondays except on national holidays.^[2] Chinese citizens under 18, including residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and foreigners with permanent residence in China, enter free but must still reserve. The free category names Chinese citizens and resident groups, not foreign tourists.^[3] Special events, holidays and conservation work can change access, so read the museum's announcements before you pick a date.

Reach Wumen without making Tiananmen Square compulsory

Wumen, the Meridian Gate on the south, is the only visitor entrance. Shenwumen on the north and Donghuamen on the east are the exits. The visit runs one way from south to north.^[3]

For a palace-only visit, walk along the eastern or western Tongzihe road to Wumen. If you have reserved both the square and the palace, you can queue through the security checkpoints around Tiananmen Square. From Tiananmen Tower to Wumen the passage is one way, from south to north.^[1] The route from Tiananmen through Duanmen to Wumen is open Tuesday to Sunday, 08:00 to 16:00.^[3]

Tiananmen East and Tiananmen West on Metro Line 1 are the stops next to Wumen. The museum has no car park of its own; the nearest public car park is on Jingshan Houjie and has limited spaces.^[3] Ask your taxi or ride-hailing driver to drop you as close as the street rules allow.

Plan onward travel from the exit you intend to use. Shenwumen faces Jingshan Park across the road, and bus stops are right outside. Donghuamen suits Wangfujing and the east side.^[3] You cannot walk back to the southern entrance, so choose your exit before you start.

Understand the palace as you walk

The Beijing palace complex was built between 1406 and 1420 and housed 14 Ming and 10 Qing emperors. It joined the World Heritage List in 1987. The listed property now also includes the separate imperial palace in Shenyang.^[4]

The layout expresses hierarchy through a central axis, symmetry and the split between an outer ceremonial court in the south and an inner residential court farther north. Watch how gateways, raised halls and courtyards guide your eye and your steps.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony, Hall of Central Harmony and Hall of Preserving Harmony anchor the ceremonial area. Beyond them lie the residential palaces and the Imperial Garden. The change in scale tells you the story: grand state ceremony in the south, the emperor's household in the north. Many halls can only be viewed from outside.

The Palace Museum, founded in 1925, holds paintings, calligraphy, ceramics and other treasures from the imperial collections.^[5] A gallery gives you a quieter, closer look after the monumental axis. The Treasure Gallery is in the Palace of Tranquil Longevity area, with the Gallery of Qing Imperial Opera and the Stone Drum Gallery, and the Gallery of Clocks is in the Hall for Ancestral Worship area.^[2] Allow time for the detour and for looking.

The eastern and western precincts add architecture and collections when they are open, but they are not a guaranteed escape from the crowds. If the main route is packed, follow the staff's directions.

Check specific closures, not just whether the museum is open

Individual buildings close for conservation while the museum stays open. Yanxi Palace is closed from 1 September to 31 October 2026 and reopens on 1 November. Wuying Hall closes from 19 October 2026 for restoration and display upgrades.^[3] Taihemen, the gate in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, has been closed for construction since 3 August 2026.^[6] A few permanent galleries, including the Ancient Architecture and Bronzes galleries, are also closed for now.^[3]

If one building is your main reason for going, check the museum's announcement list shortly before your visit.

Walking, access needs, luggage and photography

The grounds have many steps, steep slopes and uneven surfaces.^[1] If you have mobility needs, contact the museum about your route and the help available. Build in breaks and see fewer areas if that makes the day easier.

Courtyards are open to sun, wind and rain, and galleries are indoors, so dress for both. In extreme weather or an emergency, follow the staff's instructions and the loudspeaker announcements.^[1]

Large luggage can be left at the museum's deposit service. Deposit is at the visitor service centre on the west side of Duanmen Square, and you collect outside Shenwumen or Donghuamen on the same day. Suitcases and bags of 20 inches and larger qualify. Cash, watches, computers, digital devices, jewellery and food cannot be left.^[1]

Smoking, including e-cigarettes, is banned throughout the museum, and climbing on or touching buildings and objects is forbidden. In the galleries, flash, selfie sticks and tripod-type supports are not allowed, and neither is filming or livestreaming.^[1] The museum also publishes a list of prohibited items, so check it before you pack.

Jingshan is an optional second visit

If you leave through Shenwumen and want one more stop, climb Jingshan Park. Wanchun Pavilion, at the top of the hill, looks out over the whole Forbidden City and along Beijing's central axis.^[7]

Jingshan Park opens 06:00 to 21:00 from April to October (last entry 20:30) and 06:30 to 20:00 from November to March (last entry 19:30). The adult ticket costs CNY 2, rising to CNY 10 from mid-July to mid-August.^[7] Haze and cloud affect the view, so do not build your whole palace day around a sunset photograph.

For a wider itinerary, use the China travel overview. A good palace visit is not a race through every gallery: secure your ticket, understand the ceremonial and residential layout, choose the collections that interest you and leave from the gate that fits the rest of your day.