The Palace Museum 故宫博物院
The Forbidden City unfolds through one courtyard after another, using gates, halls and open space to make imperial scale physical. Move slowly enough to notice how repetition, symmetry and changing thresholds turn a palace complex into a sequence of spatial reveals.
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Why it's worth it
The Forbidden City unfolds through one courtyard after another, using gates, halls and open space to make imperial scale physical. Move slowly enough to notice how repetition, symmetry and changing thresholds turn a palace complex into a sequence of spatial reveals.
Opening · Beijing time
04-01–10-31 · tue, wed, thu, fri, sat, sun: 08:30–17:00 · Last entry 16:00
11-01–03-31 · tue, wed, thu, fri, sat, sun: 08:30–16:30 · Last entry 15:30
Getting tickets
Official international website and 故宫博物院 mini-program: book before the visit day; same-day tickets are not sold. Sales open at 20:00 Beijing time seven days before the visit.
Choose your visit datePalace Museum official admission booking
Where to book
Booking, step by step
- Open the official international booking website and sign in with the verification code sent to your email.
- Choose your date and morning or afternoon session; tickets open at 20:00 Beijing time seven days ahead.
- Enter each visitor’s exact passport details, then confirm and pay for the order.
- Save the confirmation and take the same original passport to the Meridian Gate (午门), using the manual ticket-checking lane.
Before you go
Yanxi Palace is closed through 31 October 2026 and scheduled to reopen on 1 November. Taihe Gate has a construction closure from 3 August; check the museum notice before relying on that passage.