Forbidden City Tickets: How to Book as a Foreigner

The short version

The Forbidden City (officially the Palace Museum) is one of the easiest big sights in China to book as a foreigner, as long as you know three rules:

1. No tickets on the day. The museum does not sell same-day tickets, online or at the gate.
2. Book seven days ahead at 20:00 Beijing time. Each date goes on sale at 8 pm China time, one week before.
3. Use your passport. Tickets are in your name and checked against your original passport at the gate.

Book on the museum’s official English website at bookingticket.dpm.org.cn or in its official “故宫博物院” (Palace Museum) mini-program. The museum is closed on Mondays, except on public holidays.

Forbidden City ticket prices

These are the museum’s published prices, checked on September 29, 2026:

The Treasure Gallery and the Gallery of Clocks are separate areas inside the palace. You can add them when you book the main ticket.

Discounts for foreign visitors

The museum’s discount list is written mainly with Chinese ID holders in mind:

• Under 18 free: listed for Chinese citizens, including residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and foreigners with Chinese permanent residence. Visiting foreign children should expect to need a ticket.
• Students: RMB 20 for full-time students up to bachelor’s level with a student card. Postgraduates and adult education students are excluded.
• Age 60 and over: half price with a valid original ID document.

Whether a discount type is offered for a passport is shown on the booking page when you enter each visitor. If it is not offered, book the full-price ticket. You cannot change the ticket type after buying.

How to book, step by step

On the official English website

1. Open bookingticket.dpm.org.cn and register an account.
2. Choose your visit date and the number of tickets. Dates show as available, sold out or unavailable.
3. Enter each visitor’s details exactly as in their passport, including the passport number.
4. Choose a session. Each day has a morning session (you must pass the ticket check by 12:00) and an afternoon session (ticket checks start at 11:00).
5. Add exhibitions if you want them. The Wuying Hall ceramics gallery and some special exhibitions need their own reservation.
6. Confirm the order and pay. The payment options are shown at the last step.
7. Save the confirmation. You do not need a paper ticket. Your passport is your ticket.

In the Palace Museum mini-program

The museum calls its 故宫博物院 (Palace Museum) mini-program its official booking channel, and it also asks Chinese citizens to book there with their ID card. If you are comfortable with Chinese super-apps, search for 故宫博物院 to find it. Most foreign visitors will find the English website easier.

Rules that catch people out

• One ticket per passport per day. You cannot book two sessions on the same day with one passport.
• No changes. Once sold, you cannot change the date, session, ticket type or visitor.
• Book every person. Children, discount visitors and carers all need their own real-name booking.
• Beijing time. China uses UTC+8 all year. 20:00 in Beijing is 12:00 in London in winter (13:00 in British Summer Time) and 07:00 in New York in winter (08:00 in summer).

Are third-party tickets safe?

The museum says it has not authorized any third party, company or individual to sell its admission, Treasure Gallery or Gallery of Clocks tickets, or to take exhibition bookings. It asks visitors to book through official channels to avoid losing money.

Travel platforms may still sell tours or packages that include entry. If you use one, you depend on the seller, and the ticket must still be in your own passport name. Licensed travel agencies book through the museum’s own group account system, which requires a guide with the group. That is the legitimate way a tour includes the Forbidden City.

What if tickets are sold out?

Popular dates go fast. On the day we checked, tickets for September 30 and October 1, the start of the National Day holiday, were already sold out. The museum limits visitors to 40,000 a day.

If your date is gone:

• Try another day, avoiding Chinese public holidays and weekends if you can.
• Check the booking page again. Unused tickets can be refunded until 24:00 the day before, but there is no guarantee that a ticket will come back to you.
• See it from outside. You can walk along the moat and the outer walls, or climb Jingshan Park to the north (separate entry) for the view over the roofs.
• Book a guided visit through a licensed agency, which uses the group booking system.

On the day: entry, security and luggage

Entry and exit

• Enter only through the Meridian Gate (Wumen), the south gate. It is the only entrance.
• Walk south to north. The route is one-way. You leave through the Gate of Divine Prowess (Shenwumen) in the north or the East Prosperity Gate (Donghuamen).
• Bring the original passport you booked with. Face recognition helps speed up the check.
• Coming from Tiananmen Square? The route from the square to the Meridian Gate is one-way northbound, and the square has its own reservation and security checks. If you are only visiting the Forbidden City, walk to the Meridian Gate along the east or west moat roads.

Opening hours

The museum is open on Mondays that fall on Chinese public holidays. Parts of the palace close for conservation from time to time. In late September 2026, for example, the Gate of Supreme Harmony was closed for repair work and Yanxi Palace was closed from September 1 to October 31. Check the museum’s notices before you go.

Security and luggage

• Security checks happen before entry. Items on the museum’s prohibited list are refused, and controlled items are passed to the police.
• Suitcases and bags of 20 inches and over go to the storage office at the visitor service center on the west side of Duanmen Square, in front of the Meridian Gate. You collect them outside the Gate of Divine Prowess (east side) or the East Prosperity Gate (north side), so you do not have to walk back.
• The storage office will not take cash, watches, laptops, cameras, jewelry, food or fragile items. Keep these with you.
• Collect your bag before closing time. Storage is for the same day only.

Inside the palace

• No smoking anywhere, including e-cigarettes.
• In the exhibition halls: no eating, no flash photography, no selfie sticks or tripods, and no livestreaming.
• Do not climb on buildings, rocks or old trees, or touch displays.

How long do you need?

The museum suggests routes for a two-hour, half-day and full-day visit. For a first visit, half a day covers the central halls along the main axis plus one or two side areas, such as the Treasure Gallery. Pair it with Jingshan Park, just north of the exit, for the classic view back over the palace roofs.

Common problems and fixes

For a first trip to Beijing, it helps to plan the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and Jingshan Park as one morning, and leave the Great Wall for a separate day. See our Beijing guide for a simple day-by-day plan.

If you would rather not watch the clock at 20:00, our attraction ticket help and local guides can fit the Forbidden City into your route. Our free trip planning service can also check your Beijing days against closing days and holiday crowds.