The Palace Museum: getting into the Forbidden City (and what’s on now)

The Forbidden City needs no selling: 600 years of Ming and Qing power, the largest palace complex on earth, the axis around which old Beijing is literally arranged. What it does need is explaining, because it is China’s hardest-to-book famous sight — no gate sales, no third-party shortcuts, one channel.

The system: tickets are released on the official 故宫博物院 WeChat mini-program exactly 7 days ahead, at 20:00 Beijing time, and peak dates sell out in minutes. The good news for foreigners: the mini-program accepts passports for real-name booking, one ticket per document, with the original checked at entry. Admission is ¥60 in peak season (April–October), ¥40 off-season. Closed Mondays.

On now (checked September 2026)

The autumn event is "Dian Ze: Tang and Song Painting and Calligraphy" (典则) in the Wenhua Hall, September 1 – November 1, 2026 — 107 works, including loans, shown in two rotations: Tang and Five Dynasties works through September 27, then Northern and Southern Song from September 30. Headliners include the Song copy of Gu Kaizhi’s Nymph of the Luo River and Zhan Ziqian’s Spring Outing — paintings so fragile they surface once in a generation. Free, but it needs its own timed reservation in the mini-program on top of your palace ticket.

Also always worth the add-on: the Treasure Gallery and Clock Gallery, ¥10 each — imperial gold and jade in one, the Qing emperors’ absurdly wonderful mechanical clocks in the other.

Doing the day right

• Enter south (Meridian Gate), exit north — the complex is one-way in spirit; the classic run down the central axis takes 3–4 hours minimum.
• Book the 8:30 entry and walk the Three Great Halls before the tour groups mass.
• Climb Jingshan Park (¥2, north exit) afterward for the postcard view over the golden roofs.

The booking wall

The mini-program is Chinese-only, the 20:00 drop rewards fast fingers, and the exhibition reservation is a second, separate race. This is exactly what KORA is for: give us your dates and passport details, and we run the drop for you — palace ticket, painting show, Treasure Gallery, timed and confirmed before you wake up.