Looking for a complete Forbidden City guide tickets rundown for 2025? Here’s the short version: admission is online-only and sells out on busy days, entry costs ¥60 in peak season and ¥40 off-peak, and the palace is closed every Monday. I’ve walked those red courtyards more than a dozen times, and the gap between a magical visit and a frustrating one comes down to two things — booking ahead and arriving before the gates open. This guide covers exactly what it costs, the 2025 opening hours, how to book through the official site with your passport, and what to see once you’re inside the world’s largest imperial palace.
Key Takeaways
– Tickets are ¥60 (Apr–Oct) and ¥40 (Nov–Mar) as of 2025, sold only online via the official site — there is no on-site ticket window.
– The Forbidden City is closed every Monday all year. Plan your Beijing days around that gap, not into it.
– Book exactly 7 days ahead at 20:00 Beijing time (8 p.m.) — peak-season days and holidays can hit the 40,000 daily cap and sell out within hours.
– Bring your passport. It’s tied to your booking and checked at the Meridian Gate; a name mismatch means no entry.
– Enter at the Meridian Gate and exit north at the Gate of Divine Prowess, then climb Jingshan Park for the classic rooftop photo of the golden roofs.
Forbidden City Tickets & Prices (2025)
The Palace Museum runs a single through-ticket that covers the main palace route — the three great outer halls, the inner court, and the Imperial Garden. As of 2025, prices are:
| Ticket type | Peak (Apr 1 – Oct 31) | Off-peak (Nov 1 – Mar 31) |
|---|---|---|
| Standard adult | ¥60 | ¥40 |
| Student (valid ID) | ¥30 | ¥20 |
| Child under 6 / under 1.2 m | Free | Free |
| Treasure Gallery (optional) | ¥10 | ¥10 |
| Clock Gallery (optional) | ¥10 | ¥10 |
At today’s rates that’s roughly $8–9 for an adult in summer and $5–6 in winter — one of the great bargains in world travel for a UNESCO site of this scale. The optional Treasure Gallery (珍宝馆) and Clock Gallery (钟表馆) sit in the palace’s eastern wing and are worth the extra ¥10 each if you like imperial jade, gold, and 18th-century automaton clocks. Buy those add-ons inside the palace, not at booking.
Always confirm the current price on the official Palace Museum ticketing site before you travel — the museum adjusts policy from time to time, and the figures above reflect the 2025 season.
Opening Hours & Closed Days
The Forbidden City keeps simple, predictable hours, but the Monday closure trips up more visitors than anything else:
- April – October: 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (last entry 4:00 p.m.)
- November – March: 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (last entry 3:30 p.m.)
- Closed: every Monday, all year, except when Monday falls on a statutory holiday.
The gate starts letting people in at 8:30 sharp. The square outside (Tiananmen Square) opens earlier and draws its own crowds for the flag-raising, so coordinate the two if you want both in one morning. If your trip only allows a Monday, move the palace to another day and use our Beijing 3-day itinerary to slot it in cleanly.
One timing note that saves a lot of grief: the best time to visit China and the best time for the Forbidden City overlap in April–May and September–October — clear skies, comfortable walking weather, and the light on the rooftops is unreal. Our best time to visit China guide breaks down the months and the crowds to dodge.
How to Book Tickets (Step by Step)
This is the part most first-timers get wrong, so here’s the exact path I use:
- Go to the official site — dpm.org.cn — or the Palace Museum’s WeChat mini-program (故宫博物院). The site has an English version; the mini-program is Chinese-only but works with passport details if you can navigate it.
- Pick your date. Tickets release 7 days in advance at 20:00 Beijing time. Set a reminder — peak-season weekends and the weeks around National Day (early October) can sell out the same night.
- Enter your passport number and name exactly as printed. The gate scanner matches the booking to your physical passport. A single typo can block entry.
- Pay online (WeChat Pay, Alipay, or international card on the English site). You get a QR code — screenshot it, because mobile data inside the square can be patchy.
- Show up with your passport. No printout needed; the QR plus passport gets you through the Meridian Gate.
There is no on-site ticket office — that booth was retired years ago, and “I’ll just buy one at the door” is the single most common way foreign visitors end up locked out. The daily cap is 40,000 in peak season and 30,000 off-peak, which is why the 7-day window matters.
Plan your route: The Forbidden City is one stop on a bigger trip — pair it with our Beijing 3-day itinerary for a day-by-day plan that avoids backtracking across the city.
What to See Inside: A Simple North–South Route
The palace is laid out on a strict north–south axis, which makes it nearly impossible to get lost. From the Meridian Gate, walk straight through:
- Inner Golden Water Bridge — the arched white bridges just past the entrance, your first real “I’m inside” moment.
- Hall of Supreme Harmony (太和殿) — the big one, where enthronements and imperial weddings happened. It’s the largest wooden hall in China and sits on a three-tiered marble base.
- Hall of Central Harmony (中和殿) and Hall of Preserving Harmony (保和殿) — the next two great halls, smaller and quieter.
- The Inner Court — Palace of Heavenly Purity, Hall of Union, and Palace of Earthly Tranquility, where the emperors actually lived.
- Imperial Garden (御花园) — a compact but lovely walled garden at the far north end. Good shade and a last breather before the exit.
Budget 3–4 hours for the main route. Add an hour if you tack on the Treasure and Clock galleries.
Here’s the thing about timing inside: on an October morning I cleared the Meridian Gate at 8:35 and had the marble expanse in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony almost to myself. That empty, golden silence lasted maybe 20 minutes before the first tour buses unloaded at the north end and the courtyards filled. If you want that window, you don’t stroll in at 10 a.m. — you’re at the gate at 8:25.
3 Mistakes I’ve Watched Visitors Make
I’m not above these myself. My second trip to Beijing, I assumed the Forbidden City worked like every other sight and that I could buy a ticket at the gate. I walked up to where the booth used to be and found a sign in Chinese pointing me to the app — and that day’s tickets were already gone. I’d built in a buffer day, so I booked for the next morning and went to the hutongs instead. The lesson stuck: never count on same-day tickets, and always travel with one spare day for the palace.
The other two traps are simpler:
- Ignoring Monday. I’ve stood near the Meridian Gate and watched a family from Spain read the closed sign in three languages, none of them believing it. Check the calendar before you book the flight.
- Arriving late. The palace is huge — 72 hectares, roughly 180 acres — and the back half is a long, hot walk if you start at noon. Go early, go north to south, and you finish before the worst of the afternoon sun.
New to Beijing? Skim our things to do in Beijing guide for what to pair with the palace — and our Great Wall day trip from Beijing plan if the Wall is next on your list.
Insider Tips for a Smoother Visit
A few things that make the day easier, gathered from too many trips:
- Wear real walking shoes. The “route” is about 2 km one way on hard stone, plus the gardens. I’ve seen tourists limping by the Imperial Garden in dress shoes.
- Exit at the Gate of Divine Prowess (神武门) and cross the street to Jingshan Park. A short climb to the hilltop gives you the postcard view of the golden roofs marching south — the photo every Beijing album needs. Entry to Jingshan is around ¥2 (often free now), and it’s worth every step.
- If you hate crowds at the exit, use the Donghua Gate (东华门) on the east side instead. It dumps you onto a quieter road where a taxi or DiDi is far easier to catch than the scrum at the north gate.
- Download an offline map before you go. Signal inside the stone walls is fine, but the square’s security screening can slow data to a crawl.
- Bring water and a snack. There are cafés inside, but they’re priced for a captive audience and queue up at lunch.
After one winter visit I climbed Jingshan just as the light went amber and the rooftops lit up like coins spilled across the city. A local grandfather next to me just said, “Every time.” He was right — it never gets old, and it’s the freebie that beats the ¥60 ticket.
Pair It With the Rest of Beijing
The Forbidden City sits at the dead center of the city’s imperial line, which makes it an easy anchor for everything else. Walk south for Tiananmen Square, north for Jingshan and the Drum Tower hutongs, and head to the mountains for the Wall. If you’re arriving by train from another city, our China high-speed train guide for foreigners explains buying tickets and reading your seat before you board.
This is also where a first China trip either clicks or frays — visas, payments, and SIM cards all matter before you ever reach the gate. If you’re building the whole trip, start with our China travel guide for first-timers for the groundwork, then layer in the sight-specific guides above as you lock your dates.
See more of China: If this is your first visit, begin with our China travel guide for first-timers — it covers visas, payments, and the smartest time to travel before you book a thing.
The Bottom Line
The Forbidden City is the one Beijing sight you cannot wing. Tickets are ¥60 / ¥40, sold only online 7 days ahead at 8 p.m., the palace shuts every Monday, and your passport is your ticket. Book early, arrive at opening, walk south to north, and end on Jingshan hill. Do that, and you’ll see the palace the way it was meant to be seen — before the crowds, under good light, at your own pace.