Beijing, without the booking surprises
Beijing's headline sites share one trait: they all control entry through advance, real-name booking. The prices below are the official ones — the trap is almost never the price, it is the reservation you did not know you needed.
Palace Museum (Forbidden City): ¥60 peak season (Apr 1–Oct 31), ¥40 off-peak (Nov 1–Mar 31); Treasure Gallery and Clock Gallery ¥10 each; open Tue–Sun 8:30–17:00 (last entry 16:00) in peak, 8:30–16:30 (last entry 15:30) off-peak; closed Mondays except public holidays; no same-day ticket sales — advance online booking only, 40,000 visitors/day cap, foreign visitors book with passport number
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故宫博物院官方票务政策（英文参观页 intl.dpm.org.cn + ticket.dpm.org.cn） 学生票（18岁以上本科以下）淡旺季均 20 元；60+ 半价；未满 18 岁中国公民免费。票务咨询 [email protected]。该英文页是全网对读者最友好的官方票务页，城市页与景点页直接链它。Reviewer notes (conflicts, traps, old values)
Tiananmen Square: free entry, real-name reservation required 1–7 days in advance via the official reservation platform (WeChat mini-program); same-day visits cannot be booked; bookable dates update at noon daily; four time slots (flag-raising / morning / afternoon / flag-lowering) — watching a flag ceremony requires booking that ceremony's slot
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北京市人民政府天安门地区管理委员会（预约参观服务提示）tamgw.beijing.gov.cn 节假日客流大时广场可能提前至前一日夜间开放（如国庆 9/30 21:00 起），以管委会公告为准。⚠️ 这是外国人 free-walk 计划里最容易踩的坑：不预约进不去，当日也约不了——'提前1-7天'必须写进北京行程页。Reviewer notes (conflicts, traps, old values)
Great Wall at Mutianyu: ¥45 flat (postcard ticket), student/senior concessions ¥25; peak season Mar 16–Nov 15: Mon–Fri 7:30–18:00, Sat–Sun to 18:30; off-season Nov 16–Mar 15: 8:00–17:30; real-name booking up to 30 days ahead, passport accepted; cable car ¥100 one-way / ¥140 round-trip, shuttle ¥15
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慕田峪长城旅游网（景区官方站）mutianyugreatwall.com + 北京旅游网/北京日报票价公示 ⚠️ 慕田峪淡旺季分界是 3/16-11/15，与北京多数公园 4/1-10/31 不同，且门票 45 元不随季节浮动——别给它编'淡季降价'。提前1小时停售、提前半小时停检。与八达峪对比：八达岭交通最便但人最多；慕田峪人少景好、适合外媒口碑页。Reviewer notes (conflicts, traps, old values)
Beijing attraction tickets at a glance
Official prices as published by each site. Season cut-offs are not uniform across Beijing — Mutianyu switches on March 16, the city parks on April 1 — and a cheap price window does not mean thin crowds (the Forbidden City's ¥40 off-peak contains Chinese New Year).
| Attraction | Ticket (official) | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Forbidden City (Palace Museum) | ¥60 peak (Apr 1–Oct 31), ¥40 off-peak; Treasure & Clock Galleries ¥10 each | Closed Mondays except public holidays; no same-day sales; 40,000/day cap; book with passport number |
| Temple of Heaven | Through ticket ¥34 peak / ¥28 off-peak; park entrance only ¥15/¥10 | The park-only ticket excludes the Hall of Prayer and the core buildings — buy the through ticket |
| Summer Palace | Entrance ¥30 peak / ¥20 off-peak; through ticket ¥60/¥50 | Entrance-only excludes Foxiang Ge and the inner gardens, which are sold separately |
| Great Wall — Badaling | ¥40 peak / ¥35 off-peak | Real-name booking up to 90 days ahead; cable car, slide and shuttle are all extra |
| Great Wall — Mutianyu | ¥45 flat all year | Peak season here is Mar 16–Nov 15 — a different cut-off from the city parks; cable car ¥100 one-way |
| Tiananmen Square | Free | Real-name reservation 1–7 days ahead via the official WeChat mini-program; no same-day booking |
Mutianyu switches to peak season on March 16; the city parks switch on April 1. And the Forbidden City's ¥40 off-peak window contains Chinese New Year — cheap price, packed courtyards. Price season and crowd season are different calendars.
Getting around
The subway is the default. Stations and trains are announced in Chinese and English, and every attraction above sits on or near a line. From the airports, the airport express lines connect into the same network — buy a transport card or use the QR code in your payment app rather than queueing at ticket machines.
For the Great Wall, Badaling has the simplest public transport connection from the city; Mutianyu usually means a tour bus or a chartered car, which is part of the trade for the smaller crowds. Inside the city, the ride-hailing apps (DiDi is the big one) work with a foreign phone number and an in-app translation, but the metro is faster at rush hour.
Tiananmen Square needs its own free reservation — it is not covered by any Forbidden City ticket. The Forbidden City sells out and never sells same-day. Both Great Wall sections are real-name and passport-based. Book all three the day your travel dates are fixed, not the night before.
A day count that works
- Day 1: Tiananmen Square morning slot, then the Forbidden City — they sit on the same axis.
- Day 2: Great Wall (Badaling for convenience, Mutianyu for calm), back in time for an evening in the hutongs.
- Day 3: Temple of Heaven in the morning — the park opens early and locals use it as a gym — then the Summer Palace in the afternoon.
- Days 4–5: 798 art district, the Capital Museum, a second wall section at a different hour.
Beijing guides on this site
The remaining five Beijing guides are written from the same verified fact library — the full attractions index shows what is live and what is in production.
Frequently asked questions
- How many days do you need in Beijing?
- Three full days covers the Forbidden City, one Great Wall section, the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace without rushing. Five days adds the hutongs, the museums and a second wall section. The one thing not to compress: the Forbidden City needs a morning, not a two-hour stop.
- Do I need to book Forbidden City tickets in advance?
- Yes, and this is the single most common failure. There are no same-day ticket sales, the daily cap is 40,000 visitors, and you book with your passport number. The museum is also closed on Mondays unless it is a public holiday. Fix your dates around those two facts before anything else.
- Which section of the Great Wall should I visit?
- Badaling is the easiest to reach and the most crowded. Mutianyu takes more effort to get to but is quieter and better for photographs, with a cable car and a toboggan-style slide. Mutianyu charges a flat ¥45 all year, while Badaling varies ¥40/¥35 by season — the price difference is small next to the crowd difference.
- Can I walk into Tiananmen Square without booking?
- No. Entry is free, but a real-name reservation is required 1–7 days in advance through the official WeChat mini-program, and same-day visits cannot be booked. If you want to watch a flag ceremony, book that ceremony's specific time slot. It is the piece first-time visitors forget.
Page last reviewed: 2026-10-17.