Forbidden City (The Palace Museum) Admission Ticket
Overview
Mobile ticket
We'll book your tickets using your passport details, so please provide your full name and accurate passport number. For entry, just scan your passport - you won't need a paper ticket.
Additional Info
Wheelchair accessible
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Public transportation options are available nearby
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
The ticket is booked under your passport, all visitors must present a passport for direct entry at the Meridian Gate.
Please ensure that your name and passport number is accurately provided.
Visitors from Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan must book tickets in advance using their Mainland Travel Permit and ensure the correct ID type is selected.
Chinese visitors using ID cards may book tickets independently via the official mini-program.
Tickets are only valid for the selected date. Entry is strictly limited to the reserved time slot.
This is a pre-booking service. Tickets are released 7 days in advance, and confirmations will be sent upon issuance.
Entrance: The Meridian Gate; Two Exit: Shenwu Gate (near Jingshan Park)/ Donghua Gate (near Wangfujing Street).
If you booked the "Ticket Only" service, please proceed to the Meridian Gate independently, no meeting point is arranged.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What To Expect
Meridian Gate (Wu Men)
The Forbidden City, said to consist of over 9,000 rooms, is the largest and best-preserved royal palace throughout the world. Serving as the seat of power in the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 - 1911), it was dwelled by 24 emperors in its history of over 600 years.
What‘s Included
Admission - The Hall of Central Harmony (Zhonghe Dian)
Admission - Palace of Earthly Tranquility (Kunning Gong)
Admission - The Imperial Garden
Admission ticket to the Forbidden City.
Free of charge for children under 6. Please show passport on-site.
This service is exclusively for overseas clients. Not available to Chinese citizens.
Admission - The Palace of Heavenly Purity (Qianqing Gong)
Admission - The Hall of Preserved Harmony (Baohe Dian)
NO guide service for ticket booking only.
NO transportation for ticket booking only option.
Meeting points
Meridian Gate (Wu Men)
The Entrance Gates Of Gugong, Beijing China
End points
This activity ends back at the meeting point.
Options
Beijing Mini Group Tour
Duration: 10 hours
Great Wall & Summer Palace: One Day Beijing Highlights Tour to Summer Palace and Mutianyu Great Wall
About 12 people, no shopping: Includes: English-speaking tour guide, entrance tickets
Excludes: Meals, Cable car at Mutianyu Great Wall
Entrance Ticket
Ticket only, No guide: Show your passport for entry; Entry Time: 08:30 - 12:00/ 11:00 - 15:30, can stay until close time. No meeting point.
Beijing Mini Group Trip
Duration: 10 hours
Great Wall & Forbidden City : One Day Beijing Highlights Tour to Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City and Mutianyu Great Wall
Air-conditioned mini van
About 12 people, no shopping: Includes: English-speaking tour guide, entrance tickets
Excludes: Meals, Cable car at Mutianyu Great Wall
Entry Ticket +Treasure Gallery
Ticket only, No guide: Show your passport for entry; Entry Time: 08:30 - 12:00/ 11:00 - 15:30, can stay until close time. No meeting point.
1-Day Beijing Mini Group Tour
Route: Pick-up & drop off at hotel. Visit the Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Mutianyu Great Wall, a short stop at Hutong area.
Duration: 10 hours
Inclusions: English-speaking tour guide, air-conditioned minivan with driver, entrance tickets, pick-up & drop-off from your hotel lobby.
Exclusions: Cable car at Mutianyu Great Wall
About 12 People & No Shopping
Tiananmen Sq. & Forbidden City
Route: Pick up at the meeting point, visit Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City, entrance tickets included.
Duration: 3 hours
Inclusions: Professional English-speaking tour guide, entrance fee.
Meeting Point : Pick up at the Gate of Grand Hotel Beijing. We do not provide pick-up and drop-off at your hotel.
Notice: The meeting point might be changed. The exact information will be sent to you one day before the trip starts.
Small Group Tour: About 20 pax
Tiananmen+Forbidden CityTicket
Ticket only, No guide: Show your passport for entry; Entry Time: 08:30 - 12:00/ 11:00 - 15:30, can stay until close time. No meeting point.
2-Day Mini Group Beijing Tour
Route: Day 1: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Mutianyu Great Wall.
Day 2: Temple of Heaven, Hutong, Lama Temple, Summer Palace.
Duration: 2 days
Inclusion: Pick-up & drop-off from your hotel lobby, entrance fees, professional English speaking guide, driver & van
Exclusion: Cable car at Mutianyu Great Wall
About 12 People & No Shopping
Reviews
149 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Everything went great!
Pierpaolo T,,Dec 16, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Wonderful experience, everything worked perfectly after booking your ticket a week in advance.
Not the best experience
mohamadmah11,,Oct 25, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
2.00The tour was disorganized and took too long to enter. The tour says it should take 3 hours in total. But it needed 3 hours to enter. English language of the tour guide was so so. So you could not understand everything she said
Recommend from London
goodg270,,Oct 25, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Booking worked quite smoothly and they had reliable email and WhatsApp contact. English solo visiter here. Forbidden city: Luggage/Back drop was free, your bags get transferred to your choice of exit gate, and the digital audio guide inside was ok but not anything great.
best requirements for a worldwide unique Impression -
reisefreund mitreise,,Oct 23, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00unfogettable - I was here 10 years Ago - during a heavy rain and was completely wer. - and had no fun. this time perfect weather - perfect temparature and an allover unforgettable cultural walk through centuries and millenials. worth seeing it
Fantastic, responsive service.
Aditya Sarkar,,Oct 23, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We used China travel guide to book tickets for the Terracotta Warriors (in Xi'an), the Forbidden Palace, as well as Tiananmen Square. They were incredibly easy to use, the tickets worked perfectly, and they were extremely responsive - both on whatsapp and email, whenever we had queries. I highly recommend their services, especially because some of the booking systems in China may be difficult for foreigners to navigate.
It was a beautiful...
Laura M,,Oct 15, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00It was a wonderful experience, everything went well and the guide was very kind, I highly recommend, if we had faced everything alone it would have been difficult.
Forbidden City Ticket booking
Jsnn4,,Oct 3, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00I booked entrance tickets for Forbidden City and China National Museum with Travel China Guide. All tickets were secured as requested. I always use Travel China Guide for bookings in China for their reliability and convenience. They are always extremely helpful and great with communicating if any issues and offering alternative options.
Excellent help in organizing tickets for "Forbidden City" in Beijing
luisemarias2025,,Oct 2, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Excellent help in organizing tickets by email. Fast, straightforward; very personal. Thanks to Maria Xue!
Peace of mind
missdaisymoo,,Sep 23, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We organised quite a complex itinerary travelling around China and with tickets for trains etc often not released until quite close to the departure date we didn't want to faff with booking all the various tickets ourselves. China Travel Guide has been a real helping hand. We used them to book tickets for attractions and trains. It doesn't cost much more to use this service. There were a couple of times we missed out on our original asks (ie second class train tickets instead of first class, but CTG would always offer alternatives), and a couple of times we needed to remind CTG to ensure our bookings were fulfilled but all in all a good service and we would recommend them and happily use them again. Our tip is just to keep on top of what you're expecting to come through and when. CTG are responsive, easily contactable and very helpful. They made a real difference to our trip planning. Thank you
Very highly recommended
RLC9,,Sep 22, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This year, we’ve made 4 trips to China, traveling all over the country, for 3 months total. We’ve used TCG for all our many train and attraction tickets, including for the Forbidden City. Their website is easy to use (I think easier than Trip.com’s). When I call, they immediately answer. When I email, they also answer quickly, sometimes within minutes. Everything for us has gone very smoothly. The only minor issues we’ve had are 1) On 2nd class trains, we always request the side with 2 seats, but usually get the side with 3. This is probably out of their control. 2) Once, 2nd class train seats were sold out, so we had to buy 1st class - not a big deal.
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