Half Day Mini Group Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, No Shops
Overview
Available languages
Mobile ticket
Come and join this half-day Beijing mini group tour to Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City, let a professional tour guide make you learn and experience the most in your trip. Tour begins when wander through Tiananmen Square and witness famous monumental structures. While in the Forbidden City, hop on a time travel to the dynastic era and relive the life of Chinese emperors. Admire the solemnity of ceremonial halls and smile at the flowers that thrive in the living quarters.
Additional Info
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Public transportation options are available nearby
Specialized infant seats are available
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
We guarantee 100% No Shopping Stops in our tours. When you check some other tours, if they don't mention no shopping, they MUST have commissioned based shopping stops as jade factory or tea ceremony. Even you don't see shopping related words in their itineraries or product introduction, it is indeed a shopping tour. Be sure to check out with them about the shopping stops and read reviews from their clients carefully to see what the real experience would be. By joining a shopping tour like that, your time spent on attractions will be shortened, and you will be pressured to buy overpriced items. Normally the so called jade factory or tea ceremony is the tourist trap. You have to stay there an hour or more for those travel agents to get the commission from the factory stores. If you prefer to enjoy the tour thoroughly, you are suggested to choose a tour without any annoying shopping stops just like ours.
Tickets to the Forbidden City are released online 7 days in advance and could be easily sold out. Kindly advise you to book the tour 8 days before since it is based on the real name policy. If you book within 7 days before departure, you need to line up at the entrance to buy tickets. It is only for international travelers, so you need to do it by yourself. Your tour guide will let you know how to do it and give you cash.
Please get ready at least 5 mins in advance at the meeting point, and our waiting time is 5 mins also . For travelers who are late, please go to meet the group by yourselves. No-show is non-refundable.
Please provide the correct passport info for booking the real-name entrance tickets. And please make sure to carry the same identification while traveling. Otherwise, you might be refused for entry. If you forget your passport and need to get back to fetch it, please pay for the taxi and meet the group by yourself.
The detailed sightseeing schedule is for your reference.
Group Size: About 12 people. There are chances that 10% of the tour groups will exceed 12 people but we will make proper arrangements.
Departures are guaranteed with 3 persons.
Public Holidays: Please aware there will be large crowds and heavy traffic in Chinese public holidays like May Day from May 1st to 5th and National Day from Oct 1st to 7th. We will do the best to arrange the tour.
Infant: for an infant under 3 years old, this tour is free of charge.
About Tiananmen Square: If you tour happens to meet some national events, Tiananmen Square will not open to visitors, and there is no notification to us in advance. In this case, you will tour the Forbidden City only.
This supplier also offers multi-day tours. Please search the supplier's name to check its tour list.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What‘s Included
Entrance fee to the Forbidden City
Professional English speaking guide
Hotel pick-up and drop-off
Gratuities to the guide
Meals
Not suitable for: People over 80 years old, Wheelchair users
What To Expect
Tiananmen Square (Tiananmen Guangchang)
You will find your guide at the Gate of Lao She Teahouse (Qianmen Branch), easy to locate on map. The meeting time is 08:00am, please arrive 5 minutes earlier. Our maximum waiting time is 5 minutes also. Follow your guide to take a morning walk around Tiananmen Square, and you can shoot distant view photos of the brilliant landmark buildings such as the Monument to the People's Heroes, the Great Hall of the People and the Memorial Hall of Chairman Mao. Note: Tiananmen Square always has strict security check and long lines at its entrance sometimes, especially on holidays. No-bag entry could reduce some of your waiting time, so we suggest you put your bag in the car, while remember to bring along with you the passport, bottled water, sunglasses and sunhat (if in summer). A mini waist pack is usually ok.
Forbidden City-The Palace Museum
Walk through the Gate of Heavenly Peace with the great Chairman Mao's portrait on it; you come to this morning's highlight - the 600-year-old Forbidden City - the largest and the most intact imperial palace complex of the Ming and Qing Courts (1368 - 1911 AD). The majestic Forbidden City has 9,999 rooms! We will spend three hours or so exploring the main buildings centering upon the central axis, which splits the entire compound into two symmetrical halves. After the trip is completed, you will find yourself already near the North Gate of the Forbidden City. It’s your choice to leave with your guide or take advantage of your ticket to linger inside longer to explore the Imperial Garden for more photos. There are cafes and Beijing snacks sold in the peripheral zone, so you can just tackle your lunch here before continuing your own exploration. Your guide will be glad to provide you suggestions to get back to your hotel. Note: A private tour will be offered if you have 9 people or more
Options
Half Day Mini Group Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, No Shops
Great Wall & Forbidden City
Duration: 10 hours
Great Wall & Forbidden City : Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Mutianyu Great Wall, and Hutong
Air-conditioned mini van : Hotel pick up included
About 12 people, no shopping: Includes: English-speaking tour guide, entrance tickets
Excludes: Meals, Cable car at Mutianyu Great Wall
Reviews
151 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Hasty tour of the forbidden city.
Philipp W,
Aug 28, 2025
- Viator
3.00Due to a closure of Tiananmen Square, we went next to the Forbidden City into the adjacent park. Overall, the tour seemed very hasty. This was probably because the other part of the group was supposed to go to the Great Wall that day. Instead of the promised 4-5 hours we only had about 3 hours. The price-performance ratio therefore did not fit from our point of view, even if the guide was very friendly and nice. We had much better tours in Beijing at a better price. Therefore unfortunately no recommendation from us.
The Forbidden City
Agne Z,
Aug 24, 2025
- Viator
5.00Today we had an amazing experience at the Forbidden City. It’s a wonderful place, full of history and stunning architecture. We highly recommend booking a guide for your visit. Our tour guide, Helen, shared fascinating stories and historical facts about the people who once lived there. Without Helen, it would have felt like just a vast area with impressive buildings but thanks to her, the visit was truly special. We wholeheartedly recommend Helen as a guide to enrich your experience.
Nothing recommended
Mariyana Y,
Aug 2, 2025
- Viator
1.00Pretty bad my experience. The guide was going super fast, everyone rushing DE behind, the explanation was insufficient, the quality of the headphones very low, you could not hear well, the people of the “small” group were lost. And the group was too big, 19 people. We left before the tour is DEAD.
Half day Forbidden City tour
Surangkana,
Jul 26, 2025
- Viator
5.00The tour was good, if the weather is colder would be really nice. Helen was helpful and very friendly. We do enjoy and had a lot of information for this tour.
Beyond Expectations
GermanOscar L,
Jun 29, 2025
- Viator
5.00I was lucky enough to do the Forbidden City and Great Wall tour with Helen, and I couldn’t be more grateful. From the very beginning, Helen showed an incredible level of professionalism and dedication that truly made a difference. She took care of every detail: time management was flawless, her historical explanations were clear and engaging, and she made sure we fully understood and appreciated every site we visited. She helped us with the tickets, made access to all places smooth and easy, and ensured we made the most of our time. What I appreciated the most is that Helen went far beyond her duties as a guide, she even helped us with questions about getting around the city after the tour, offering great local advice and practical tips. Truly an exceptional guide. If you have the chance to do a tour with Helen, don’t hesitate. Thank you, Helen, for such an unforgettable experience!
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