Forbidden City Ticket Booking

Overview

Mobile ticket

The Forbidden City is also known as Palace Museum, it was the imperial residence of 24 Ming and Qing dynasty Emperors, and the center of political power in China for over 500 years from 1420 to 1924. The palace as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. The Forbidden City is arguably the most famous palace in all of Chinese history, and is the largest and best preserved royal palace complex still standing in the world.

Due to the numbers of tourist restrictions in the Forbidden City every day, a very limited ticket available daily and can be booked on the app 7 days in advance. Most of the time, tickets to the Forbidden City are hard to buy. Through our booking service, we can save you time and energy.

Additional Info

Wheelchair accessible

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller

Public transportation options are available nearby

Specialized infant seats are available

Transportation options are wheelchair accessible

All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible

Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness

1. Easy to book, provided with the correct passport name and passport number.

2. Upon receiving a ticket confirmation letter from the local supplier, you only need to present your passport to enter through security checks to the Forbidden City.

3. Explore the Forbidden City at your own pace. You can freely choose to travel in the morning or afternoon.

5, Tourists holding foreign passports can make reservations within 7 days (not applicable to Chinese tourists, including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan)

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

What‘s Included

Forbidden City entry ticket

Lunch

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting points

Meridian Gate (Wu Men)

The Entrance Gates Of Gugong, Beijing China

End points

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Meridian Gate (Wu Men)

The Forbidden City is the largest and the best preserved of ancient royal palaces in the world, and was once the royal residence of 24 Chinese emperors and countless concubines. It has a history of 600 years old. The Forbidden City, also known as the Palace Museum, is a must visit attraction for visitors to Beijing. Attracting countless tourists from all over the world every day. Due to numbers of tourists restrictions every day, it is necessary to book visiting tickets in advance. It is recommended to make a reservation at least 8 days in advance. We will send you a successful ticket purchase email 7 days in advance, and then you only need to bring your passport to enter directly. So, make sure to provide the correct passport number is necessary.

Admission Included

Options

Forbidden City guide tour

Ticket+Tour guide sevice: English speaking tour guide+ticket. Orders within 7 days are only applicable to tourists holding foreign passports.
Duration: 3 hours: The tour is aroung 3-4 hours in total. You have to show up on time at the meeting point.
Meeting point: Meet infront of Kapok Hotel （东华门木棉花酒店)，ADD: No.16th. Donghuamen road, Dongcheng district

Morning entrance ticket

No meeting point,: No guide included, it's self-guided tour. All visitor's passport name and numbers are required to book the ticket.
Access between 8:30am-12:00pm: Present your passport to enter from South Gate(Meridian Gate). Take taxi to East gate then walk around 10 min to South Gate.

AM Entrance+Treasure gallery

Afternoon entrance ticket

No meeting point : No guide included, it's self-guided tour. All visitor's passport name and numbers are required to book the ticket.
Access between 11:00am-15:30pm: Present your passport to enter from South Gate(Meridian Gate). Take taxi to East gate then walk around 10 min to South Gate.

PM Entrance+Treasures gallery

No meeting point,: No guide included, it's self-guided tour. All visitor's passport name and numbers are required to book the ticket.
Access between 11:00am-15:30pm: Present your passport to enter from South Gate(Meridian Gate). Take taxi to East gate then walk around 10 min to South Gate.

Reviews

4.89

85 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

Great tour!
207hanan,
Nov 1, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Our tour guide, Summer, gave us useful information about every corner of the Forbidden City which definitely enhanced our experience culturally and historically :) thank you!
Excellent tour!
ananto2021,
Nov 1, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Excellent tour of the Forbidden City. Our guide, Summer, was very friendly and knew the area very well. It was a very comprehensive tour.
Educational tour
ployk243,
Nov 1, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
The forbidden city's tour is really great,our guide Summer shared fascinating insights about architecture, history, and culture, making the tour educational and enjoyable. Highly recommend this tour to everyone.
Amazing tour guide
gracefJ9026WQ,
Oct 31, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Our guide Summer was incredibly friendly – she shared loads of fascinating insights about the Forbidden City, stories about the last emperor Puyi, and even took us to lots of quiet spots off the beaten track. We particularly loved the place she showed us to snap photos of the four dragons on the roof! Her commentary was brilliant, and we can’t thank her enough.
Unforgettable forbidden tour
C5069TSfrankb,
Oct 31, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Summer was utterly warm, passionate and knowledgeable throughout the Forbidden City tour.She truly made the experience so much more special. Thanks a lot for giving us an unforgettable tour.
Excellent experience
clairelX3851LB,
Oct 31, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Awesome guide.. speaks fluent english and easy to understand. Explains the history well and brings us to good places for phototaking. Responsible too as she always does random checks to ensure that everyone is within her sight. Highly recommended 👍🏻 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Great tour
620athenm,
Oct 31, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Our tour guide Summer was extremely knowledgeable and incredibly friendly. She shared fascinating insights into the history of the Forbidden City’s various buildings, as well as the daily lives of emperors and empresses. She answerEd all of our questions thoroughly – she truly is an exceptional guide.
Great Trip!
yeohe2025,
Oct 30, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Great 4-hour Forbidden City tour! Excellent guide, learned a lot today! 5 stars, absolutely recommend! Forbidden City is just too big to explore on my own.
Forbidden City Tour
C9366SGpascall,
Oct 30, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Our guide Summer was a great tour guide. Supportive, friendly and knowledgeable. 10/10 tour in the Forbidden City, for anyone looking to book an informative tour, this is the one !
Wonderful experience
petersonp193,
Oct 30, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
The Forbidden City truly lives up to being China’s best tour! It was cloudy today however our experience was perfect—all thanks to our tour guide Summer, knew exactly which path to go to avoid crowd, her extensive knowledge made us enjoyed every moment in the forbidden city.We love those interesting historical facts.