Forbidden City
Nine hundred buildings and five centuries of imperial court, on seventy-two hectares.
Duration
3 hrs – 5 hrs
Best time
At opening
Open
Closed on Monday
Entry price
To confirm
The Forbidden City was built between 1406 and 1420 and housed twenty-four Ming and Qing emperors until 1912. Seventy-two hectares, a ten-metre wall, a moat fifty-two metres wide, and around nine hundred buildings aligned on a north-south axis that runs through the whole of Beijing.
The name comes from the prohibition: nobody entered or left without the emperor's leave. The route follows that axis, from the three great ceremonial halls in the south to the private apartments and the imperial garden in the north — and the best of it, the side courtyards, is missed by anyone who never leaves the centre line.
Getting there
Single entrance through the Meridian Gate, north of Tiananmen Square. Metro line 1, Tiananmen East or West.
What the price covers
paid entry on a booked time slot, passport required; rate to be checked
Rules on site
The ticket is booked online several days ahead, in your name and with your passport number: it is not sold at the gate. The route runs one way from south to north — there is no going back.
