One of the main reasons to visit Beijing is the Forbidden City. The area hosting the palaces of the imperial era holds many secrets behind its massive walls. One of those secrets might be how reserve a ticket. With China’s approach to modern technology, you will have to get your ticket online. The slots are capped at around 40,000 visitors a day and are released 7 days before the requested day. On the official website, however, they are usually sold out, even if you check the recommended 7 DAYS IN ADVANCE. The good news: even when the official website shows all slots reserved, there are still options via WeChat and OTAs. Here’s how to get a ticket to the Forbidden City when everything is fully sold out.
(Forbidden City in Beijing, Picture: Markus Müller)
Do I Need a Ticket for the Forbidden City in Advance?
Yes, you need to get a ticket or rather a slot in advance to visit Beijing’s Forbidden City. The price for one ticket is 40 RMB (low season)/60 RMB (high season) and can be purchased 7 days before the visit, from 8 p. m. on. Keep in mind that on Mondays, the Palace Museum is usually closed, with the exception of public holidays.
(Palace Museum's website)
To get a ticket for Beijing’s Forbidden City and Palace Museum through the website, you really need to be on time and go online at 8 p. m. (GMT+8). Now, if available, you can choose a morning or afternoon visit, upload your ID and visa, and pay the ticket fee, preferably via WeChat or AliPay. Some international credit cards might also work, but I highly recommend attaching them to one of the Chinese payment apps before arrival in China.
(Booking site of the Palace Museum: Slots are often sold out)
You won’t receive a printable ticket after payment, but just a short confirmation. At the gate, all you need to do is to scan your passport or visa. Alternatively, the staff has to type in the ID number by hand. For the morning slot, you can arrive between 8:30 and 12:00 and stay as long as you wish. The afternoon sessions can already be started from 11:00 a. m. on. The Palace Museum then closes around 5 p. m. in summer, and 4:30 p. m. in winter.
(Important notes by the Palace Museum Beijing)
Buying Admission Tickets For Beijing’s Forbidden City on the Palace Museum’s Website in 8 Steps
- Tickets are available 7 days in advance, from 8 p. m. on
- Tickets are often sold out, so you need to check the website right at the time when the new tickets are released
- Tickets for the Forbidden City cost 60 CNY in high season, 40 CNY in low season
- Morning slots can be started between 08:30 and 12:00 a. m.
- Afternoon slots start from 11:00 a. m.
- The Palace Museum in the Forbidden City closes at 5 p. m. in summer, at 4:30 p. m. in winter
- You won’t receive an actual ticket or QR code; the admission is attached to your ID or visa
- At the entrance, you only scan your passport, just like you do at Chinese railway stations
How to Book a Ticket for the Forbidden City and the Palace Museum in Beijing Using WeChat?
Alternatively to the official website, you can also find tickets to the Palace Museum and the Forbidden City in Beijing on their so-called mini-program on WeChat/Weixin. First of all, you need to download the app, verify your passport, attach a credit card to it, and now you can reserve different tickets for China’s Cultural Heritage Sites easily via WeChat.
Once installed and set up, you copy and paste the characters 故宫 (Forbidden City) to get to all channels and mini-programs connected to the attraction. Eventually, you will find 故宫博物院, which is the official name of the Palace Museum. Carefully check if the logo of the page is correct, or simply scan the QR Code to access the mini-program.
The options in the mini-program are usually in Chinese, but can be easily translated into any other language using Google Lens. To make Google work in the first place, you might have to download a VPN, preferably LetsVPN or Astrill. Another option is to use an eSIM or a roaming SIM Card from Macao, Hong Kong, or Taiwan.
(Choosing the Palace Museum's mini-program on WeChat)
Eventually, you will reach the booking options and, surprisingly, even if the website's reservations are sold out, there are still available spots in the mini-program. You can now choose a date and time, decide on a ticket type and share your personal details.
The next step is to pay via WeChat and the credit card attached. After that, you will be registered, and you can use your passport as a ticket to the Forbidden City and the Palace Museum.
Here are the most important 9 steps to book your ticket for Beijing's Forbidden City via WeChat/Weixin:
- Download WeChat and open an account
- Verify your passport and connect your credit card
- Search for Forbidden City in the WeChat Channels (故宫)
- Open the Palace Museum Channel (博物院)
- Alternatively, reach the Palace Museum via QR Code
- Use the mini-program to reserve tickets to the Forbidden City
- Choose date, slot, ticket type
- Fill in passport information and pay via WeChat
- Your passport will be your ticket
How to Get to the Forbidden City in Beijing?
To get to Beijing’s Forbidden City, you should use the subway line 1 to Tiananmen East or Tiananmen West. Alternatively, you can exit line 2 at Qianmen Station, but it is situated a bit further away. From here, you have to walk to the Wumen Gate, where the tourist entrance is situated. Since the Walls of the Forbidden City are quite large and there are multiple gates, you need to make sure to head straight to this slightly hidden area.
(Meridian Gate/Wumen Gate, Source: Wikimedia, Shizhao, CC BY-SA 2.5)
You can’t just reach the Palace Museum straight from the large Tiananmen Gate, which is overlooked by the picture of Chairman Mao. Instead, when getting off at one of the Tiananmen Square Subway Stations, you will have to walk around this famous landmark in the heart of Beijing.
(Tiananmen Gate with Mao Portrait, Picture: Markus Müller)
From my experience, it is quite easy to walk up Nanchang St from Tiananmen West Station and eventually turn right via Xihuamen Ave across the Tongzi River. Here you follow the Palace Walls southward, then turn left. This can take 20 to 25 minutes walking, so you should keep an eye on your morning slot time.
(Directions from Tiananmen West to the Palace Entrance)
From Tiananmen East, it’s a bit quicker and easier to reach the Wumen Gate with the Forbidden City's Entrance. You just cross the Jinshui River next to the Tiananmen Gate, the one with Mao Zedong’s portrait, and reach it from the South Gate. This takes around 12 to 15 minutes walking. At the Meridian Gate, you might have to queue for a while, but since people already have tickets, it moves quite fast.
(Directions from Tiananmen East to the Palace Entrance)
Google Maps, even when using a VPN, isn’t much of a helper. I very much recommend switching to Maps.me for Beijing, or, if you manage to figure out some Chinese characters, use Baidu Maps. At least, here you will find the accurate routes and correct transport information.
Do I Need a Guide or Audio Guide for the Forbidden City?
Yes, it is recommended to use some sort of guide, since the Forbidden City is huge and the history behind it dates back hundreds of years. One option is to get the official audio guide. You will receive an odd-looking device with a small map on the back. After plugging in the headphones and turning it on, it can track your location via GPS. Recognising the exact spot, it starts telling you the facts behind the buildings.
The rental price for the Forbidden City’s audioguide is 40 RMB for foreign languages. All in all, it was an alright experience. Unfortunately, on our visit, the audioguide had a few malfunctions and often stopped working mid-text or just swapped to another story. Of course, you need to stop moving for a bit, so the location wouldn’t change. But even staying in one spot, there were many cut-off explanations. We had the same problems at Xi'an's Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum. However, it is the cheapest option and definitely better than exploring this massive area without any guide.
An alternative is to hire a professional guide who will explain everything face-to-face. For such a service, you will have to pay significantly more money. There are also bigger group tours, of course, but here the risk to miss some information or not having enough time to take pictures is quite high. If you’re here for the photos, the audioguide might be a better option.
Audioguide:
- Cheap option (40 RMB)
- More flexible
- Better for photo ops
- You can rest when you want (important in such a huge place)
- Has some malfunctions with the GPS tracking
- Sometimes stops halfway during the explanations
Real Guide:
- Personal experience
- Can ask questions
- More information about the buildings
- Prices are much higher
- Sometimes, larger groups rush through
- Less time for resting and pictures
Which Route to Follow in Beijing’s Forbidden City?
If you want to see everything in the Forbidden City of Beijing, you should visit more than once. This landmark covers an area larger than 100 football fields and, because every emperor added new architectural features, it has more than 1,200 buildings.
Using a classic route, you could visit the most important palaces within 2 to 3 hours. Basically, you walk straight from one yard to another, with a few detours to the adjacent buildings on the sides. From the Meridian Gate, you can walk through the Outer Court and head for the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony. Take a closer look at the odd-numbered Wenshou figures on the swung roofs and let the guide explain to you what the different animals symbolise.
(Wenshou figures on the roofs of the Forbidden City, Picture: Markus Müller)
In the Inner Court, you will eventually reach the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Hall of Union and the Palace of Earthly Tranquillity. The tour finishes in the Imperial Garden at the Northern End of the Forbidden City.
If you want to dive a bit deeper into the history of the Forbidden City, you can make some turns at the central axis and add the Treasure Gallery and the Clock Gallery to your visit. For those attractions, you will have to pay 10 CNY each.
There is, of course, even more to discover. If you want to take a look at all of the accessible buildings, you should come in the morning and stay the whole day. Then you have time for the Wenyuan Pavilion in the Outer Court, as well as for the Ci Ning Palace and the Six Western Palaces with the private belongings of the emperor’s mother.
(Imperial Gardens, Source: Gerd Eichmann, Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 4.0)
What’s really worth it is some more time in the Imperial Gardens. They are beautifully designed and offer you a lot of space to rest or take pictures. Since they are located at the very end, many tourists are already too tired to enjoy them to the fullest. That’s why multiple visits could be a good idea.
Is There Food in the Forbidden City of Beijing?
There are a few restaurants inside the Forbidden City, but I would generally recommend eating before the visit or bringing some snacks. The places we found offered sweets, cakes, sandwiches and coffee. The desserts are available at the Kun Ning East Courtyard Tea House, quite far in the back of the Palace. There are a few more savoury options like dumplings in The Palace Museum Restaurant. It has two locations, one near the Hall of Preserving Harmony and one behind the Palace of Earthly Tranquillity. In the West Wing, the Bing Jiao Restaurant is another option for more traditional dishes.
(Dessert restaurant in the Forbidden City, Picture: Markus Müller)
Honestly, there are often long lines, and the food tends to be more expensive than outside of the Forbidden City’s Walls. Once you leave the area, you will have a much wider selection of street food and noodle bars, especially in the Hutong quarters North and East of the Palace. My absolute favourite, by the way, was the Punk Rock Noodle Place in the Jiao Dao Kou neighbourhood.
When to Visit Beijing’s Forbidden City?
The Forbidden City can be visited all year round, with slightly shorter opening hours in winter. From 1st April to 31st October it opens from 8:30 a. m. to 5:00 p. m. and from November to the end of March only until 4:30 p. m. On Mondays, the Palace Museum is closed. If you’re planning a big tour through Beijing’s Forbidden City, you should reserve a morning slot and come early. For shorter walks around 2-3 hours, afternoon sessions are absolutely sufficient.
Opening hours:
- Summer (1st April–31st October): 8:30 AM-5:00 PM
- Winter (1st November–31st March): 8:30 AM-4:30 PM
How Much Time Do I Need for the Forbidden City in Beijing?
For a basic tour through the Forbidden City, you need around 2-3 hours, plus pauses and stops at the restaurants. If you want to explore more and get to know many details, you can also spend half a day or the whole day in this large heritage site.
Can I Combine the Forbidden City with Tiananmen Square?
Since the visit to the Forbidden City can be quite time-consuming and you will usually exit through the Northern Gate, it might be a bit much to combine it with Tiananmen Square. If you have booked an afternoon slot for the Palace Museum, you could probably have a look at Tiananmen in the morning, then cross the street and go to the Wumen entrance. However, keep in mind that you also need to book a slot for Tiananmen Square using the 天安门广场预约参观 mini-program on WhatsApp or by scanning the QR code near the Tiananmen Gate.
It’s especially popular to attend the flag-raising and flag-lowering ceremonies. The first one, being at sunrise, seems to be a bit early, in my opinion, but if you have newly arrived and the jet lag keeps you awake, give it a try. To go to Tiananmen after the Forbidden City is a bit of a hassle, though, since you need to go all the way back to the Southern end.
Can I Combine my Visit to the Forbidden City with the Jingshan Gardens?
Combining a visit to the Forbidden City with the Jingshan Gardens is a much better idea than with Tiananmen Square. This attraction is situated right behind the Northern gate, so the place where you will exit the Palace area.
(Jingshan Gardens, Source: Gary Todd, Wikimedia, CC0 1.0)
Formerly, Jingshan Park used to be a part of the Forbidden City, but was opened to the public after the first revolution. Inside the gardens, you can see Confucian pavilions, and you can enjoy the view from the Wanchun Ting hill across the Forbidden City: It’s probably the best spot to take pictures of the Palaces from above.
What Else to Do After My Visit to the Forbidden City?
One great thing to do after a visit to the Forbidden City is a stroll through the Hutongs of Beijing. Those traditional neighbourhoods were recently renewed, but still keep a bit of the atmosphere of the old days. There are food markets with local specialities and more exotic options like snakes or scorpions North of the Forbidden City. We got quite lucky with the delicacies along Nan Luogu Lane.