Where Should Foreign Tourists Book Forbidden City Tickets in 2026?

In 2026, foreign tourists should book Forbidden City tickets on the Palace Museum's official site, bookingticket.dpm.org.cn, with their passport number, so plan your dates, then book your trip through ShopBack before you pay, where ShopBack Cashback works like a discount, only easier than a promo code. According to the Palace Museum, it does not sell tickets on the day of your visit, caps visitors at 40,000 a day, and charges CNY 60 from April to October and CNY 40 from November to March. Book early, then plan the rest of your Beijing trip through ShopBack.

New to ShopBack? ShopBack Singapore is a free app and website that returns cash on eligible bookings when you start from ShopBack before you pay. Trip.com, Agoda and Klook are among the travel stores you can book this way. Join ShopBack Singapore for free, then open the store's ShopBack page before you book your hotel or flights.

Forbidden City tickets: the official facts

The Forbidden City is run as the Palace Museum, and its ticket rules are set by the museum itself. Here is what the Palace Museum states on its English visit page and official booking site at the time of writing:

Item	According to the Palace Museum
Where to book	Official site, bookingticket.dpm.org.cn (English available)
Same-day tickets	Not sold on the day of your visit
Daily limit	40,000 visitors
Foreign visitor ID	Passport number at booking, same passport at entry
High season price (1 Apr to 31 Oct)	CNY 60
Low season price (1 Nov to 31 Mar)	CNY 40
Treasure Gallery	CNY 10
Gallery of Clocks	CNY 10
Ticket release	From 20:00, seven days before the visit date
Closed	Mondays, except national holidays

The palace itself is huge. According to the museum, the complex measures 961 metres from north to south and 753 metres from east to west, covering 720,000 square metres, and the museum's collection runs to more than 1.8 million pieces.

Where should I book Forbidden City tickets as a foreign tourist?

Book Forbidden City tickets on the Palace Museum's official booking site, which accepts passport holders and has an English version. The museum's ticket notice says it does not authorise any third party institution or individual to act as an agent for its tickets, and asks visitors to book through the official channel to avoid losses. That makes the official site the safest place for the entry ticket itself.

What the official site offers foreign visitors, according to the Palace Museum:

• An English interface, along with other languages such as Spanish, Russian, Japanese and French.
• Email sign-in, where your account is created after you verify your email address.
• Passport booking, since foreign visitors must provide their passport number.
• Payment options shown on the site include international bank cards and WeChat Pay or Alipay.
• A help email, [email protected], for ticketing questions.

If the site shows a high traffic message, the museum asks you to try again later. This tends to happen around the evening release time for popular dates.

How to book Forbidden City tickets step by step

The booking flow on the official site has five steps: pick the date and quantity, enter visitor details, choose any exhibition, confirm the order and get the reservation result.

1. Open bookingticket.dpm.org.cn and switch the language to English.
2. Sign in with your email address and the verification code sent to it.
3. Pick your visit date. Tickets for each date open from 20:00 Beijing time, seven days before.
4. Enter each visitor's name and passport number exactly as printed on the passport.
5. Add the Treasure Gallery or Gallery of Clocks if you want them, and any exhibition that needs a reservation.
6. Pay within the time shown, then keep the confirmation.
7. On the day, bring the same passports and enter through the Meridian Gate (Wumen), the south gate.

Beijing is on the same clock as Singapore, so a 20:00 release in Beijing is also 20:00 in Singapore. That makes it easy to book from home after dinner.

Forbidden City tickets for Singapore travellers in 2026

For Singapore travellers in 2026, the Forbidden City ticket itself is inexpensive, so the real planning work is getting the right date and building the rest of the trip around it. Each person needs a ticket in their own name, including family members, and the passport details must match.

Practical tips:

• Book the palace first, then the rest. Lock in your Forbidden City date as soon as tickets open, then fit the Great Wall, Temple of Heaven and other sights around it.
• Avoid Mondays. The museum is usually closed on Mondays, except national holidays.
• Watch Chinese public holidays. Dates around Golden Week and other holidays are usually in high demand.
• Mind the last entry. According to the museum, last entry is 16:00 from April to October and 15:30 from November to March.
• Plan your exit. The museum runs one way from south to north. You enter at the Meridian Gate and leave by the Gate of Divine Prowess (Shenwumen) in the north or the Donghuamen gate in the east.

For a longer plan, see our Beijing 7-day budget guide and our guide to which Great Wall section to visit.

Forbidden City tickets best deals in 2026

There is no discount site for the standard Forbidden City ticket: the official price is set by the Palace Museum, and the cheapest way to see the palace is usually to visit in low season. At the time of writing, the museum lists CNY 40 from 1 November to 31 March, compared with CNY 60 from 1 April to 31 October.

Where you can save is on the rest of the trip:

• Flights and hotels are usually the biggest costs of a Beijing trip from Singapore.
• Compare hotel prices across booking sites for the same room, dates and cancellation rule.
• Go through ShopBack before you pay for hotels, flights and tours. The effective price is what you pay minus what ShopBack returns.

The museum also announces occasional special admission offers, such as half-price days, in its announcements on the booking site. These are set by the museum and change, so check the official site rather than a third-party listing.

Trip.com vs Klook for Forbidden City tickets

For the Forbidden City entry ticket, the Palace Museum's position is that you should book through its official channel, so Trip.com and Klook are better used for the rest of your Beijing trip. Both platforms are useful in different ways:

• Trip.com lets you book flights, hotels, trains, airport transfers and attractions and tours in one app, which helps when you plan a multi-city China trip.
• Klook offers tours, day trips and transport passes across Asia, which suits a Great Wall or city tour day.

If you are looking at a guided tour that includes the Forbidden City, read how the tour arranges entry, whose passport is used and what happens if the date sells out. The ticket rules above still apply to every visitor, since entry is checked against the passport used for booking.

Can I get a refund on Forbidden City tickets?

Usually yes for unused tickets, but the Palace Museum limits how often you can cancel. According to its ticket notice at the time of writing:

• Unused tickets are refunded through the original booking channel.
• Refunds go back to your payment account within 5 working days.
• Tickets that have been checked in cannot be refunded.
• Each cancellation counts towards a limit: no more than one a day per person and three within 180 days. After the third, you cannot book for 60 days.

So choose your date carefully before you pay, and check the live rules on the booking site, since the museum can adjust them.

Visiting tips once you have your ticket

Give yourself at least half a day inside the palace, and a full day if you want the galleries. The museum suggests two-hour, half-day and one-day routes on its site.

• Morning and afternoon sessions. At the time of writing, the booking site splits each day into a morning and an afternoon session, so match your arrival to the time window shown on your booking.
• Bring your passport. You check in at the Meridian Gate with the same ID used to book.
• Decide on the extras early. The Treasure Gallery and Gallery of Clocks are separate small fees, and the booking flow lets you add them when you book.
• Set up payments before you fly. See our guide to setting up WeChat Pay and Alipay as a tourist.
• Check temporary closures. The museum posts notices when halls close for conservation work.

How to book the rest of your Beijing trip through ShopBack

Before you book a hotel on Booking.com or Agoda, go through ShopBack first. The same goes for flights and tours on Trip.com or Klook. ShopBack works like an automatic cash discount on your online order: open the store's page on ShopBack Singapore, tap through and pay.

Cashback lowers what you actually pay for an order. It comes back as cash, so it works like a discount on the price, not like points or miles.

The effective price is what you pay minus what ShopBack returns. Check the live rate on the store's ShopBack page before you book.

Where to start:

1. Book your Forbidden City date on the official site as soon as tickets open.
2. Book flights and your hotel from the Trip.com page on ShopBack or the Agoda page on ShopBack.
3. Book a Great Wall day trip or city tour from the Klook page on ShopBack.

FAQ

Where should I book Forbidden City tickets as a foreign tourist?

Book on the Palace Museum's official ticket site, bookingticket.dpm.org.cn, which has an English version. According to the Palace Museum, it does not sell tickets on the day of your visit, foreign visitors book with their passport number, and it has not authorised any third party to act as a ticket agent. Then book your hotel, flights and other tours through ShopBack Singapore before you pay.

How much are Forbidden City tickets in 2026?

According to the Palace Museum at the time of writing, general admission is CNY 60 from 1 April to 31 October and CNY 40 from 1 November to 31 March. The Treasure Gallery and the Gallery of Clocks each cost CNY 10 more.

When do Forbidden City tickets go on sale?

According to the Palace Museum's booking site, tickets for a given day are released from 20:00 Beijing time, seven days before the visit, and are valid only on that day. Popular dates can sell out, so set a reminder for the release time.

Can I buy Forbidden City tickets at the gate?

No. The Palace Museum says it does not sell tickets on the day of your visit, and all visitors must make a real-name booking in advance. It limits visitors to 40,000 a day.

What do foreigners need to book Forbidden City tickets?

Foreign visitors book with their passport number and bring the same passport on the day, since check-in at the Meridian Gate is done with the ID used for booking. The official site lets you register with an email address and shows payment by international bank card or WeChat Pay and Alipay.

Is the Forbidden City open on Mondays?

Usually not. According to the Palace Museum, it is open Tuesday to Sunday and closed on Mondays, except Mondays that fall on national holidays. Check the official site for any temporary closures before you book.

Can I get a refund on Forbidden City tickets?

According to the Palace Museum's ticket notice at the time of writing, unused tickets can be refunded through the original booking channel, and refunds return to your payment account within 5 working days. Each cancellation counts towards a limit of three in 180 days, after which bookings are blocked for 60 days.

Should I book Forbidden City tickets on Trip.com or Klook?

For the entry ticket itself, the Palace Museum points visitors to its official channel. Trip.com and Klook are useful for the rest of a Beijing trip, such as hotels, flights, airport transfers and guided day tours. If a guided tour includes palace entry, read how entry is arranged and which ID is needed before you pay.

How do I save on a Beijing trip from Singapore?

Book the Forbidden City on the official site, then save on the bigger costs: flights, hotels and tours. Before you book a hotel on Booking.com or Agoda, go through ShopBack first. The effective price is what you pay minus what ShopBack returns.

Is Cashback the same as airline miles?

No. Cashback lowers what you actually pay for an order. It comes back as cash, so it works like a discount on the price, not like points or miles.

Disclaimer

The information in this article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute travel or purchase advice. Ticket prices, release times, refund rules, opening hours and ShopBack Cashback rates change over time. Always check the Palace Museum's official website and the relevant ShopBack store page before you book. Brand and organisation names are used for editorial reference only and do not imply endorsement.