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Keeping you safe during COVID-19
Adjusted Daily Limit of 30,000 Visitors to the Palace Museum from 1 October 2020

In order to meet the public demand for cultural offerings, while taking into consideration the current epidemic prevention and control situation of Beijing, the Palace Museum will adjust the daily limit to 30,000 visitors (15,000 visitors from 8:30 to 13:00, and 15,000 from 13:00 to 16:00, respectively) from 1st October 2020 with required reservations, a limited number of daily visitors, and visiting-time intervals. During the National Day holiday (October 1st to 8th, 2010), the Palace Museum will open regularly. Visitors may reserve tickets via the Palace Museum’s online ticketing service by real-name registration with a second-generation ID card (for Chinese residents) or passport (for foreigners). At the entrance, visitors are required to present their QR health code and identification for scanning and have their temperature taken. Wearing face masks and maintaining a safe distance of at least one meter are required in the galleries.

The Palace Museum is opening museum shops, bookstores, and restaurants in an orderly manner. Measures shall be taken by on-site staff if crowd density exceeds limits in these areas. Your cooperation will be greatly appreciated.

The Palace Museum
30 September 2020

Forbidden City - The Palace Museum

The Forbidden City (Chinese: 故宫; pinyin: Gùgōng) is a palace complex in central Beijing, China. It houses the Palace Museum, and was the former Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty (the years 1420 to 1912). The Forbidden City served as the home of emperors and their households and was the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government for almost 500 years.

Constructed from 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings and covers 72 hectares (over 180 acres). The palace exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture, and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987, and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.

Since 1925, the Forbidden City has been under the charge of the Palace Museum, whose extensive collection of artwork and artifacts were built upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Part of the museum's former collection is now in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Both museums descend from the same institution, but were split after the Chinese Civil War. Since 2012, the Forbidden City has seen an average of 15 million visitors annually, and received more than 16 million visitors in 2016 and 2017.

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Opening Hours

Important Info

Regulations

Directions

Admissions

Opening Hours

OPEN Tuesday - Sunday; CLOSED Mondays (except for national holidays) *The Palace Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday all year round and on national holidays that fall on Mondays, except for the eve of the Spring Festival.
The Palace Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday all year round and on national holidays that fall on Mondays, except for the eve of the Spring Festival.
There may be temporary closures which cannot always be scheduled in advance, since they are frequently caused by unforeseen circumstances. The management of the Museum would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused.

Seasons	Opening Hours	Stop Entry	Stop Ticketing
High Season April 1st - October 31st	8:30-17:00	16:10	16:00
Low Season November 1st - March 31st	8:30-16:00	15:40	15:30

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Important Info

Forbidden City (The Palace Museum) has daily quota of 80,000 visitors daily, and now require both individual visitors and tourist groups book tickets in advance online, Foreign visitors are required to provide passport numbers during the online booking.
Show passports to get access. The tickets is E-tickets, so there is no paper ticket needed to enter the Forbidden City.Please bring your passport with you when entering the Forbidden City(The Palace Museum)
You will get instant confirmation from us via email after successful booking and payments. Please make sure to enter your correct email address.
You could change your date for free by click "view booking" button. Free cancellation up to 12 hours in advance. No refund if the cancelation made within 12hours prior to departure.

Regulations

Smoking is strictly forbidden inside the Palace Museum.
Scratching surfaces and graffiti are strictly prohibited.
Please watch your personal belongings.
No pets.
Photography Policy：

1. Photography is permitted for private, non-commercial use outdoors throughout the Forbidden City, except for sites or areas with "No Photography" signs.

2. Visitors are not permitted to take photographs inside halls with original interior decoration whether on the central axis or the west route.

3. The use of tripods and flash is prohibited in both special and permanent exhibitions.

4. Works of art on loan from other institutions, domestic and abroad, may not be photographed.

5. Photography is prohibited in some of the gift shops as indicated.

6. For special photography, please contact the Director's Office (Fax: (8610)8500-7415, gugong@dpm.org.cn).

7. The Museum reserves the right to make any necessary adjustments to its photography policy.

Directions

Getting to Forbidden City (The Palace Museum)

Entrance:

Wumen (Meridian Gate) -South Gate of the Forbidden City(The Palace Museum)

Walking Direction:

Tian'anmen-Duanmen-Wumen(Entrance)

Metro:

Tian'anmen West（天安门西） or Tian'anmen East（天安门东） Line 1

Public Bus:

Tian'anmen West（天安门西）of Bus Line：1、5、52、99, Night Line1, Seghtseeing Line 1,2

Tian'anmen East (天安门东） of Bus Line: 1、120、2、52、59、82、99, Night Line1、2、17, Sightseeing Line1、2

Admissions

High Season(April 1st – October 31st)

High Season	Main Entrance	Treasure Gallery	Hall of Clocks
Adults (19-59)	$9.99	$1.99	$1.99
Seniors(60+)	$7.99	$1.99	$1.99
Teenagers(7-18)	$7.99	$1.99	$1.99
Chindren(0-6)	Free	Free	Free

Low Season(November 1st – March 31st)

Low Season	Main Entrance	Treasure Gallery	Hall of Clocks
Adults (19-59)	$7.99	$1.99	$1.99
Seniors(60+)	$6.99	$1.99	$1.99
Teenagers(7-18)	$6.99	$1.99	$1.99
Chindren(0-6)	Free	Free	Free

E-tickets, Skip the Line

Show passport to get access. Our tickets is E tickets, very easy to use! Just show your passport when check in the site at the selected entry time and date. No need to queue in line to collect your paper tickets at tickets counter.

No Sign-in, Easy Book & Pay

No need to sign in, booking process is rather easy by using our advanced tickets booking engine. Your will get an instant confirmation from us after successful payments through Paypal. Credit Card is supported.

Free Change or Cancellation

Your travel plans changes? No worry, we offer the most flexiable change or cancellation policy for customers. You just need to click the "view booking" button to submit your changes. Cancellation is free if submitted 12 hours prior to selected entry time.

Frequent Asked Questions

How to use our tickets to enter the Forbidden CIty(The Palace Museum)?

Just show passport to get access at the Entrance - Wumen Gate (Meridian Gate). On the day of visiting, you could go to the Wumen Gate(Meridian Gate) of Forbidden City to check in by yourself. Just show up with your passports on the date and time selected and scan them to check in directly at the entrance to the Forbidden City and its inside galleries. You don't need paper tickets or printed email to enter the Forbidden City.

Could I change or cancel the tickets?

Yes, you could change or cancel the tickets 12hours prior to designated entry time. We support free Change & Cancellation if sending the request by email within 12hours before the designated entry time. Cancellation or change withing 12 hours are not supported.

If I choose the morning session starting at 08:30, do we need to be present exactly at 08:30? or can we enter later?

You don't need to present exactly at 08:30am for morning session ticket, you could enter at anytime during 08:30-12:00.

If you choose the afternoon session staring at 12:00pm, you could enter at anytime during 12:00-16:00.

Can I buy the Forbidden CIty tickets on spot?

Now all the 80,000 tickets per day would be sold on internet. There is no ticketing window available on spot, just a stand with QR code for you to scan and buy tickets by wechat. But please note in high season, the tickets are easily to be sold out as quota is 80,000 tickets per day. Most of the tickets will be booked in advance.

Can I hire a guide for visiting the Forbidden City?

Yes, we also offer English Speaking Guide service if request in advance. Please contact us at info@forbiddencitytickets.com or +86-15538191943 for more information. The general cost for the guide is CNY400 for 2.5hours tour of Forbidden City, and CNY500 for 4hours tour of Tian'anmen Square, Forbidden City and Jingshan Park.

Can I pay for the tickets by credit card?

Yes, we support the payments by credit card via paypal.

Can i pay for tickets by using my Wechat Wallet or Alipay?

Yes, if you want to use Wechat wallet or Alipay to pay for tickets, you could send me your personal information and the tickets type to us (including full name, Date of Birth, and Passport number to us) , then we will book the tickets manually for you. After we booked the tickets, we will send you the booking records, then you could transfer the payment to us via Wechat or Alipay.

Is this the official website of Forbidden City Palace Museum?

We are not the official website, but we are the Official Authorizated Ticketing Agency of Forbidden City (Palace Museum). Since the official website only provide Chinese version booking page by using a Chinese Cell Number and Chinese Bank Card. You also have to translate every steps to english when make the booking. It was rather diffcult for an non-chinese visitors.

Official Site: https://en.dpm.org.cn

Official Ticketing Site: https://gugong.ktmtech.cn/

For more questions, please write to us at info@forbiddencitytickets.com

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