For visitors from abroad

Booking attractions

Almost every major attraction in China now uses real name advance booking: your passport number is the ticket, and the busiest sites cap daily visitors. Turning up without a reservation at the Forbidden City, the Terracotta Army or the Mogao Caves means not getting in.

Checked 2026-11-01. Rules change often; confirm anything that matters with an official source before you travel.

How real name booking works

Tickets are sold through the attraction's own WeChat mini program, through Alipay, or through Trip.com, Klook and similar sites. You give each visitor's name as it appears in the passport and the passport number, and at the gate you show the passport, which is scanned or checked against the list. There is no paper ticket and nothing to print.

Mini programs are usually Chinese only. Trip.com and Klook cover the famous sights in English with a small markup and are the simplest route for most visitors. For free museums, a Chinese speaking hotel receptionist can often book for you in a minute if you ask nicely.

Sights that sell out

  • Palace Museum (Forbidden City), Beijing: 80,000 visitors a day, tickets released at 20:00 seven days ahead and gone within minutes in peak months. Closed Mondays.
  • National Museum of China and the Beijing museums: free, booking required, released a week ahead.
  • Shaanxi History Museum, Xi'an: free, 12,000 a day, the hardest free ticket in China; its new Qin and Han branch is easier.
  • Terracotta Army, Xi'an: large capacity but book ahead in May, July, August and October.
  • Mogao Caves, Dunhuang: 6,000 full tickets a day in season, booked on the official site a month ahead; emergency tickets show fewer caves.
  • Potala Palace, Lhasa: your agency books it as part of the Tibet permit.
  • Jiuzhaigou, Zhangjiajie, Huangshan and Yellow Mountain cable cars: daily caps in October; book on the park mini programs.
  • Shanghai Disney, Universal Beijing, pandas at Chengdu base: book dated tickets online, the base is best before 9:30.

Closing days and timing

  • Museums close on Mondays except public holidays. Temples and parks open daily.
  • Last entry is typically 30 to 60 minutes before closing, and parks stop selling tickets then too.
  • Popular sights in summer open at 7:00 or 7:30. The first hour is the only quiet one.
  • Admission for children under 1.2 metres is free almost everywhere and half price for students with an ID card; senior discounts usually require a Chinese ID.

Common questions

The mini program will not accept my passport number.

Choose document type 护照 (passport) rather than the default ID card, type the number without spaces, and enter your name in capitals exactly as printed, surname first if asked. If it still fails, book through Trip.com, which handles the registration for you.

Can I enter with a photo of my passport?

Usually not. Gates want the physical document. Carry it every day in China; it is also needed for trains, hotels and SIM cards.

What if tickets are sold out?

Check again at 20:00 for cancellations, try the attraction's official site rather than resellers, or ask your hotel. For the Forbidden City, Jingshan Park opposite gives the famous rooftop view with no booking.