900 buildings,72 hectares,two dynasties.
The Ming and Qing imperial palace at the centre of Beijing. The largest surviving wooden-architecture complex in the world.
The Forbidden City is the Ming and Qing imperial palace at the centre of Beijing, home to twenty-four emperors over five centuries. Nine hundred buildings, seventy-two hectares, three central halls along the north–south spine, and a dense maze of lateral courtyards where the late Qing dowagers actually lived. The main entrance, the Meridian Gate, opens at 08:30. The museum closes on Mondays except during statutory public holidays. Most travellers march the central spine in ninety minutes and miss everything off the axis. We walk the spine early while it is still empty, then slow down through the side courts the convoys never enter.
The palace,
the way we arrange it.
Opening hour
Through the gate first.
We are at the Meridian Gate at 08:20, ten minutes before opening, in the first hundred through. The spine from the Hall of Supreme Harmony to Qianqing Palace is yours for about twenty minutes before the first wave of day groups catches up. Tickets are real-name and released seven days ahead at 20:00 Beijing time on the official portal, against your passport details. We book them under your trip.
Off the axis
The side courts.
After the central halls, your guide turns west into the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the Treasure Gallery, and the Six Western Palaces. These rooms, where the late Qing dowagers actually lived, are quiet even at peak hours. The famous Clocks and Watches hall sits in here; entry is a separate ticket, also pre-booked.
Out the back
Coal Hill, in time.
Exit through Shenwu Gate by 11:30, cross the moat, and ten minutes up Jingshan Hill for the photograph that frames the whole palace below. Lunch follows in a courtyard hutong restaurant ten minutes' walk from the hill. Most travellers are sat down for noodles by the time the day-trip groups are still queuing inside the Outer Court.
Questions worth
answering early.
Three hours is the right minimum for the central spine: the three great halls (Supreme Harmony, Central Harmony, Preserving Harmony), the residential palaces of the inner court, the Imperial Garden, and out the back gate. Four to five hours covers the spine plus the side-hall additions: the Clocks Hall, the Treasure Gallery, the Six Western Palaces, which is where the real concentration of objects lives. Less than three hours is a quick walk-through; more than five and the legs are usually done before the rooms are.
The natural
second stop, in Beijing or beyond.
The Great Wall
Same Beijing stay, different day. Wall first while you're fresh, palace city while the legs recover.
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The Terracotta Warriors
Five hours south by high-speed rail. The classic imperial pair: palace city, then mausoleum army.
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Xi'an's City Wall
Same Xi'an stop. Two walls and a palace, five centuries apart, all standing.
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Jack Guo
Senior Travel Specialist
Jack has spent ten years working with the guides, drivers and hoteliers across China. He'll be your contact from first enquiry to final airport pickup.
Add The Forbidden City to your trip
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