Beijing: Forbidden City, Great Wall and booking tips

Before you go

Prices, hours and booking rules change, so check the official site before you go.

Beijing is booking-first. The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square both need a real-name booking made with your passport number. Carry the same passport on the day.

Forbidden City (Palace Museum)

故宫博物院

• Book ahead: see the Palace Museum booking notice (Chinese). Tickets for each date go on sale at 20:00 Beijing time, 7 days before. There are no tickets at the gate.
• Closed Mondays (except public holidays).
• Opens 8:30. Apr–Oct: last entry 16:00, closes 17:00. Nov–Mar: last entry 15:30, closes 16:30.
• ¥60 Apr–Oct, ¥40 Nov–Mar. Treasure Gallery and Clock Gallery are ¥10 each.
• Enter only at the south Meridian Gate. Exit by the north gate (Shenwumen) or the east gate (Donghuamen). Metro Line 1, Tiananmen East or West.
• One ticket per passport per day. The museum says it has no authorised resellers.
• Yanxi Palace is closed until 31 Oct 2026. The Gate of Supreme Harmony has been under repair since 3 Aug 2026.

Tiananmen Square

天安门广场

• Free, but you must book 1–7 days ahead with your passport.
• Use your booked time slot and checkpoint, and travel light.
• To watch the flag-raising, book the flag-raising time slot. The ceremony follows sunrise, so the time changes daily; check the official timetable (Chinese).

Great Wall: Mutianyu

慕田峪长城

• Book on the official site with your passport. Adult ¥40. How far ahead you can book differs between the official pages, so check the official site.
• Shuttle bus ¥15 return. Cable car ¥140 return or ¥100 one way.
• Mid-Mar to mid-Nov: 7:30–18:00 weekdays, 7:30–18:30 weekends. Off-season 8:00–17:30.
• Getting there: the official site lists morning tourist buses from Qianmen and Dongzhimen. Or take public bus 916 from Dongzhimen to Huairou Beidajie and change to a bus for the scenic area.
• It closes in severe weather, so check the site that morning.

Great Wall: Badaling

八达岭长城

• The closest section by train: high-speed rail to Badaling Great Wall Station (check times on 12306). The S2 suburban line no longer starts in the city. It now runs from Nankou.
• Apr–Oct 6:30–16:30. Nov–Mar 7:30–16:00.
• Tickets are real-name and need your passport. See the Badaling scenic area's booking notice (Chinese) for how to book and the current price.

Temple of Heaven

天坛公园

• The park opens at 6:00 (Apr–Oct) or 6:30 (Nov–Mar). The main halls open at 8:00 and are closed on Mondays, except public holidays.
• Through ticket ¥34 (Apr–Oct) or ¥28 (Nov–Mar).
• Metro Line 5 (East Gate) or Line 8 (West Gate).

Summer Palace

颐和园

• You can book 1–7 days ahead online, or buy at the gate service window with your passport if tickets remain.
• Entry ¥30, combined ticket ¥60 (Apr–Oct).
• The inner sights close on Mondays.
• Metro Line 4, Beigongmen (north gate), or Line 4/16, Xiyuan (east gate).

From the airport

• Capital Airport (PEK): Capital Airport Express, flat ¥25.
• Daxing Airport (PKX): Daxing Airport Express to Caoqiao.
• Both lines take tap-to-pay with overseas Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Amex and UnionPay cards.

Eating

• Dishes the Beijing government lists for visitors include Peking duck, copper-pot hot pot, zhajiang noodles, and douzhi (a sour fermented mung-bean drink) with fried dough rings. Beijing food list.
• Qianmen Street and Dashilar, just south of Tiananmen Square, are old shopping streets with many places to eat. Metro Line 2, Qianmen.
• Guijie, on Dongzhimen Inner Street, is a long restaurant street.
• Small eateries may not take foreign cards. Carry a phone wallet, a card and some cash; see Cards and cash.

Concerts and shows

For large concerts and shows in China, a national rule requires real-name ticket buying and real-name entry. The buyer's and attendee's ID must match. Check each event's own ticket rules for which IDs it accepts. Ministry of Culture and Tourism notice (Chinese).