Beijing: Forbidden City, Great Wall and booking tips

Before you go

Prices and hours 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 on the official English site bookingticket.dpm.org.cn. 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).
• 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 north. 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. New dates open at noon.
• Use your booked time slot and checkpoint, and travel light.
• National Day 2026: for flag-raising the square opens the night before, at 21:00 on 30 Sep and at 23:30 for 2–5 Oct.

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 tourist bus (¥80 return) leaves Qianmen, Dongzhimen and Shaoyaoju in the morning. Or take public bus 916 from Dongzhimen and change in Huairou.
• It closes in severe weather, so check the site that morning.

Great Wall: Badaling

八达岭长城

• The closest section by train (S2 or high-speed rail to Badaling).
• Apr–Oct 6:30–16:30. Nov–Mar 7:30–16:00.
• Real-name booking on the official site or WeChat. Check the current price there.

Temple of Heaven

天坛公园

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

Summer Palace

颐和园

• Book 1–7 days ahead. New dates open at 21:00. A passport ticket option exists.
• Entry ¥30, combined ticket ¥60 (Apr–Oct).
• The inner sights close on Mondays.
• Metro Line 4, Beigongmen (north gate) or 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.