Exploring home of Chinese emperors: The Palace Museum (Forbidden City)

The Forbidden City was completed in 1420 during the Ming Dynasty. It was the home to the 24 Ming and Qing Emperors, with a total occupied space of more than 720,000 square meters.

The Palace Museum was established in 1925 based on the Forbidden City. It is the largest museum of ancient culture and art in China. The Palace Museum's collection system is complete, with a total collection of more than 1.8 million pieces. Precious cultural relics account for 90 percent of the total collection.

In 2019, over 19.3 million people visited the museum. To protect the relics and to improve visitors' experiences, the current cap of 40,000 is maintained even though the actual tourist demand is significantly higher. The wave of ticket-grabbing is especially high during the high seasons.

No visit to Beijing is complete without a visit to the Palace Museum. There are three main ways foreigners can book tickets. Tourists need to plan their visits beforehand and reserve tickets in advance. Note that methods 1 & 2 only apply to foreigners.

Method 1: Official Website

Method 2: Email Reservation

Remember to attach all required information. The response time is normally a few hours (no email response during weekends and holidays).

Method 3: WeChat Mini Program

Visitors must have a Chinese phone number to book through the WeChat mini program. Note that the mini-program does not support languages other than Chinese.

Tickets

• Adult
  • April 1st-October 31st (high season): ¥60
  • November 1st - March 31st (low season): ¥40
• Kids below 18 years old: FREE
• Undergraduate Students: ¥20
• Seniors (above 60 years old): ¥30

Visitors can book tickets 7 days before their visits. The tickets are released at 8 p.m. everyday. 

The director of the Palace Museum, Wang Xudong said, within its collection, it is recorded that when a society is open and encourages cultural exchange and communication, it is often prosperous and thriving.

"We welcome visitors, scholars and researchers who are interested in the palace to communicate with us."