Guides · China
Beijing tickets
Ticket and booking rules for Beijing: timed entries, closing days and official links, checked September 2026.
Checked September 2026 against official sources
Beijing
Bookings and opening rules
Follow the official link before you buy. Full walking days: Beijing itinerary.
Tickets, reservations and opening days
- The Palace Museum (Forbidden City) admits from 8:30, with last admission at 16:10 from April to October and 15:30 from November to March; it is closed on Mondays except statutory holidays. Admission is ¥60 in peak season and ¥40 in low season, plus ¥10 each for the Treasure Gallery and the Gallery of Clocks. No same-day tickets are sold; everyone books in advance through the museum's official website or WeChat mini-program.Source: Beijing Municipal Government, Visit Beijing · checked Sep 2026
- Palace Museum tickets are released seven days ahead at 20:00. Tiananmen Square requires a separate free reservation, which individuals can make one to nine days in advance through the official website or the Tiananmen Square Reservation and Jing Tong mini-programs.Source: Beijing Municipal Government · checked Sep 2026
- Mutianyu Great Wall is open 7:30–18:00 from March 16 to November 15 (until 18:30 at weekends) and 8:00–17:30 in winter; adult tickets are ¥45 and no reservation is required, tickets are sold on site. The scenic area's own site adds that ticket sales stop an hour before closing and entry half an hour before.Source: Beijing Municipal Government, Visit Beijing / Mutianyu Great Wall · checked Sep 2026
- The Summer Palace gates are open 6:00–19:00 from April to October (park cleared at 20:00) and 6:30–18:00 in winter; the ticketed halls inside open 8:00–17:30 in summer. Entrance is ¥30 in peak season and ¥20 in low season, the through ticket including the halls ¥60. Tickets can be booked 1–7 days ahead on the park's WeChat account, and visitors with passports can also buy at the gate's service window.Source: Beijing Municipal Government · checked Sep 2026
- Temple of Heaven park is open 6:00–22:00 (last entry 21:00); the ticketed sights inside open 8:00–18:00 Tuesday to Sunday (last entry 17:30) and are closed on Mondays except statutory holidays. In high season the park ticket is ¥15 and the combined ticket with the Hall of Prayer, the Echo Wall and the Circular Mound Altar ¥34; tickets are reserved 1–7 days ahead through the park's WeChat account, which foreign visitors can also use.Source: Beijing Municipal Government, Visit Beijing · checked Sep 2026
- Beihai Park is open 6:00–21:00 in peak season (last entry 20:30) and 6:30–20:00 in winter; the scenic spots inside open 8:00–18:00 and most are closed on Mondays. Entrance is ¥10 in peak season (¥5 in winter) and the combined ticket ¥20 (¥15). The park's English page asks international visitors to reserve by phone a day ahead and buy at the south gate information desk with their passport.Source: Beijing Municipal Government, Beijing Park Tours · checked Sep 2026
- Jingshan Park is open 6:00–21:00 from April to October (last entry 20:30) and 6:30–20:00 in winter. The adult ticket is ¥2, raised to ¥10 from July 14 to mid-August.Source: Beijing Municipal Government, Beijing Park Tours · checked Sep 2026
- Yonghe Temple (the Lama Temple) charges ¥25 and sells its admission tickets only through the official WeChat mini-program for visitors, with real-name registration; tickets go on sale 10 days in advance, one ticket per person per day. The temple's listed hours are 9:00–16:00 on ordinary days.Source: Beijing Municipal Government · checked Sep 2026
- The Confucian Temple and Imperial College Museum is open 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30), closed on Mondays except statutory holidays; the ticket for both is ¥30, bought online through the museum's WeChat account or at the ticket office.Source: Beijing Municipal Government, Visit Beijing · checked Sep 2026
On the day
What to watch at each stop
Forbidden City (Palace Museum)
- Closed Mondays; ¥60 (Apr–Oct) / ¥40; book 7 days ahead, no same-day tickets; last entry 16:10 (15:30 in winter)
Beihai Park
- ¥10 (Apr–Oct) / ¥5; combined ticket ¥20; island sights closed Mondays
Temple of Heaven
- Park 6:00–22:00; halls 8:00–18:00 Tue–Sun, closed Mondays; combined ticket ¥34 (Apr–Oct)
Summer Palace
- Gates 6:00–19:00 (Apr–Oct); entrance ¥30, through ticket with the halls ¥60; book 1–7 days ahead or buy at the gate with a passport
Great Wall at Mutianyu
- 7:30–18:00 (Mar 16–Nov 15), 8:00–17:30 in winter; ¥45; ticket sales stop an hour before closing
Lama Temple (Yonghe Temple)
- ¥25; timed ticket via the temple's WeChat mini-program, up to 10 days ahead; last entry an hour before closing
Questions
Quick answers
Which days should I plan around?
The Forbidden City is closed on Mondays and so are the ticketed halls of the Temple of Heaven, the Confucius Temple and the paid sights inside Beihai Park, so keep days one and two off a Monday. The Forbidden City sells no same-day tickets and its 40,000 daily places open seven days ahead at 20:00; Tiananmen Square needs its own free reservation, one to nine days ahead.
Do I need a Chinese app to visit?
For the Forbidden City, no: the Palace Museum's English website takes bookings with a passport number. Tiananmen Square, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace and the Lama Temple sell timed tickets through WeChat mini-programs, which now accept foreign cards; the Summer Palace and Mutianyu also sell tickets at the gate. Bring your passport everywhere, because every ticket is tied to it.
The days these rules belong to
3 days in Beijing
Beijing's big sights sit on a north–south line, so day one simply walks it: Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City from the Meridian Gate to the north gate, the view from Jingshan, Beihai's white dagoba and an evening around the Houhai lakes and the Drum Tower. Day two starts early at the Temple of Heaven with the tai chi crowd, walks up Qianmen Street for Peking duck, takes the subway out to the Summer Palace and ends on Wangfujing. Day three is the Great Wall at Mutianyu, back in the city by mid-afternoon for the Lama Temple, the Confucius Temple and the lanes of Nanluoguxiang. The Forbidden City is closed on Mondays and sells no same-day tickets, so book it a week ahead and put day one anywhere but Monday.
