Forbidden City Tickets 2026
Real-name booking rules, 2026 prices in USD and CNY, the four best places to buy, and a tight 3-hour route through the Palace Museum.
What is the Forbidden City?
The Forbidden City (officially the Palace Museum, or Gu Gong) is the 180-acre imperial palace complex at the heart of Beijing that served as the home of 24 emperors from the Ming and Qing dynasties for almost 500 years. It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 and is the largest preserved wooden palace complex on Earth.
For travelers in 2026, three things matter: the palace has a hard 80,000-visitor daily cap, every ticket is tied to a passport via the real-name system, and it is closed every Monday. Plan around those constraints and the visit is straightforward. Ignore them and you will fly home without ever walking through the Meridian Gate.
Why you must book ahead
80,000 visitors daily cap
The Palace Museum sells only 80,000 tickets per day. In peak season (April-October) tickets sell out 3-7 days in advance. Walk-ups are almost always turned away.
Real-name passport registration
Every ticket is tied to a passport number scanned in the Palace Museum app. No transfers, no proxies. Bring the exact passport you booked with or you will be refused entry.
Closed every Monday
The Forbidden City is closed on Mondays year-round (except national holidays that fall on a Monday). Plan your Beijing itinerary around this or waste a travel day.
2026 Forbidden City prices
USD shown first (approximate) with CNY face value in parentheses. The Palace Museum switches to low-season pricing on November 1 and back to high-season on April 1.
| Ticket type | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard entry (April-October, high season) | $8.40 (60 CNY) | Covers Meridian Gate, Three Halls, Inner Court, Imperial Garden. |
| Standard entry (November-March, low season) | $5.60 (40 CNY) | Same route, winter pricing. Palace still fully open. |
| Treasure Gallery (extra) | $1.40 (10 CNY) | Add-on for imperial jewelry and gold artefacts in the north-east corner. |
| Clock Gallery (extra) | $1.40 (10 CNY) | Hall of Ancestral Worship. Famous mechanical imperial clocks. |
| Night Extraordinary tour (rare) | $28-42 (200-300 CNY) | Occasional lantern-festival evenings. Books out in minutes. |
| Audio guide (on-site) | $5.60 (40 CNY) + 100 CNY deposit | Available at the Meridian Gate in 40+ languages. |
| Guided tour (GetYourGuide / Viator / Klook) | $40-90 per person | Skip-the-line access, live English guide, tickets included. Best for first-timers. |
| Jingshan Park combo | +$0.70 (5 CNY) | Pair with Forbidden City north exit for the iconic panoramic palace view. |
Prices verified April 2026. Entry ticket face values set by the Palace Museum. Guided tour ranges from partner platforms.
Where to book Forbidden City tickets
GetYourGuide
Best for first-time visitorsEnglish-speaking guide, skip-the-waiting-area entry, and your passport registration handled at the counter. Free cancellation up to 24 hours.
Check availability on GetYourGuideViator
Private guides and combo daysPrivate Forbidden City guides plus multi-stop combos with Tiananmen Square, Jingshan, and hutong walks. Useful if you want one guide for a full Beijing day.
Check availability on ViatorKlook
Cheapest guided optionAsia-focused platform, mobile tickets, and the lowest guided prices we have seen (often $40-55). Good if you are already using Klook for trains and attractions.
Check availability on KlookOfficial: en.dpm.org.cn
Cheapest but painfulThe Palace Museum English site. Cheapest tickets (60 CNY face value) but buggy payments, Chinese-only error messages, and frequent rejections of foreign cards. Only use if you have a Chinese bank card or UnionPay.
Check availability on OfficialWarning on the official site: en.dpm.org.cn frequently rejects foreign credit cards, returns Chinese-only error messages, and has outdated browser compatibility. If you do not have a Chinese payment method, use one of the three platforms above.
Real-name booking strategy: step by step
Since 2017 the Palace Museum has enforced real-name booking. Every ticket is tied to one passport number and checked at the gate. Here is the exact sequence that works in 2026.
The Monday closure trap
The Forbidden City closes every single Monday year-round. The only exception is when a Chinese national holiday (Spring Festival, Labour Day, National Day) falls on a Monday. Thousands of international tourists arrive at the Meridian Gate each Monday and are turned away.
The fix is simple: book the palace for Tuesday-Sunday and use your Monday for the Great Wall at Mutianyu, the Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, or a hutong walking tour. None of those close on Mondays.
Best time to visit
Option A: Early 8:30am entry
Arrive at Tiananmen East subway station by 8:00am, walk through Tiananmen Square security, and be at the Meridian Gate for opening. The first 90 minutes have the thinnest crowds and best light for photos of the Three Halls.
Option B: Afternoon 1pm entry
Morning tour groups finish around 12:30pm. Enter at 1:00pm, walk through more calmly, exit via the north gate around 4:00pm, then climb Jingshan Hill for the sunset panorama. This is our preferred route for photographers.
The 3-hour strategic route
The complex has 9,999 rooms. Trying to see them all is how people burn out by hour two. This is the tight central-axis route that covers the icons and exits you at Jingshan.
- 1
Meridian Gate (Wumen)
South entrance. Show passport + QR code at security. The five arched tunnels were reserved for the emperor.
- 2
Three Great Halls
Hall of Supreme Harmony, Hall of Central Harmony, and Hall of Preserving Harmony along the raised marble axis. This is the photo.
- 3
Inner Court
Palace of Heavenly Purity and Palace of Earthly Tranquility. The actual living quarters of the emperor and empress.
- 4
Imperial Garden (Yuhuayuan)
Ancient cypresses, Taoist rockeries, and the pavilion where emperors took tea. Shade and benches.
- 5
North Gate (Shenwumen) to Jingshan
Exit through the Gate of Divine Might, cross the road, pay 5 CNY, walk up the hill. Panoramic sunset view of everything you just walked through.
The Jingshan sunset tip
Jingshan Park sits directly north of the Forbidden City exit. Entry is $0.70 (5 CNY). Climb the central hill to the Wanchun Pavilion and you are looking straight down the palace axis with the entire yellow-tiled rooftop ocean in front of you.
Time it for 30 minutes before sunset. In summer that is around 7:00pm, in winter closer to 4:30pm. This is the best free photo spot in Beijing and 90% of tour groups miss it because they exited through Tiananmen instead of the north gate.
Visiting with kids
The Forbidden City works for kids if you keep the route short and shady. The open paved courtyards between the Three Halls get brutally hot in summer and exposed in winter. Push through the central axis without lingering, then spend your energy in the Imperial Garden, which has trees, rockeries, and a small pond kids enjoy.
Exit via the north gate straight into Jingshan Park, which has a playground, snack carts, and shaded paths. The combination of Imperial Garden plus Jingshan gives you a manageable 2.5-hour family-friendly version of the visit.
Skip the Treasure Gallery and Clock Gallery with toddlers, and bring water. Strollers are allowed but the stone thresholds at every hall entrance mean you will be lifting a lot.
6 common Forbidden City mistakes
Showing up without a reservation
There is no ticket window for walk-ups since 2019. No reservation = no entry, even in low season.
Going on a Monday
The palace is closed every Monday except when a national holiday falls on one. Tuesday-Sunday only.
Not bringing your actual passport
Security matches your passport to the booking. Photos of your passport, ID cards, and driving licenses are all rejected.
Missing the 4:10pm last-entry cutoff
The Meridian Gate stops scanning tickets at 4:10pm. The palace closes at 5:00pm. Arriving at 4:15pm means your ticket is wasted.
Skipping Jingshan Park at sunset
Five yuan (~$0.70) and a 3-minute walk from the north gate gives you the best view of the entire palace complex. Skipping it is a mistake.
Trying to walk every hall
The complex has 9,999 rooms. A strategic 3-hour route (Meridian Gate > Three Halls > Imperial Garden > North exit) beats 6 exhausted hours of sore feet.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a Forbidden City ticket in 2026?+
Standard entry is $8.40 (60 CNY) from April to October and $5.60 (40 CNY) from November to March. The Treasure Gallery and Clock Gallery add $1.40 (10 CNY) each. Guided tours with skip-the-waiting-area entry on GetYourGuide, Viator, or Klook run $40-90 per person.
How far in advance do I need to book?+
Tickets release exactly 7 days before the visit date at 8:00pm Beijing time. In high season (April-October and Chinese public holidays) they sell out within hours. Book the moment the 7-day window opens or reserve through a tour operator who has an allocation.
What is the real-name ticket system?+
Every ticket is tied to one passport number. You register your name and passport in the Palace Museum app when booking, and the security staff at the Meridian Gate scan your physical passport against the booking. Tickets cannot be transferred or sold on.
Is the Forbidden City really closed on Mondays?+
Yes, every Monday year-round, except when a Chinese national holiday falls on a Monday. This catches out thousands of tourists. Plan your Great Wall, hutong, or Summer Palace day for Monday instead.
How long should I spend inside?+
A focused visit takes 3 to 4 hours: Meridian Gate, the Three Great Halls (Supreme Harmony, Central Harmony, Preserving Harmony), the Inner Court, and the Imperial Garden before exiting through the north gate. Add 1-2 hours if you also do the Treasure Gallery and Clock Gallery.
Is a guided tour worth it?+
For most first-time visitors, yes. The palace has almost no English signage on the halls themselves, and a $40-90 guided tour from GetYourGuide or Klook includes the ticket, real-name registration, skip-the-waiting-area entry, and 2-3 hours of context you cannot get from an audio guide. Solo travelers on a budget can grab the $5.60 on-site audio guide.
Should I combo Jingshan Park with the Forbidden City?+
Absolutely. Jingshan Park sits directly north of the palace exit. Tickets are $0.70 (5 CNY). A 10-minute walk up the hill gives you the classic panoramic view of the entire Forbidden City rooftop sea, best at sunset around 5:00-5:30pm in summer.
Is the Forbidden City good with kids?+
Yes, but plan a short route. Kids tire quickly on the stone-paved plazas between the Three Halls. Go straight through the central axis, spend time in the Imperial Garden (trees, rockeries, a small pond), and exit north to Jingshan for a playground and a sit-down. Avoid the Treasure and Clock galleries with toddlers.