China attraction tickets · Free passport planner
Book China attraction tickets with a foreign passport.
Calculate the Palace Museum release moment, build a Terracotta Warriors document plan, and keep the official link, entrance and original-passport reminder in one place.
Verified August 3, 2026 · Official sources linked · No live inventory or booking service
The answer in 30 seconds
There is no single China booking rule.
Start on the attraction’s own domain, enter passport details exactly, carry the original booking passport, and verify the release window, closure day, entrance and issued status separately.
A seller request, a guided tour and official admission are not the same product.
- Forbidden City
- 20:00 CST · 7 days before
- Terracotta Warriors
- Check the current official calendar
- At the gate
- Bring the original booking passport
Before you relax
What counts as “booked”?
A date picker or payment request is not the finish line. Read the status and the exact product before arranging a non-refundable day around it.
A date appears
The attraction’s own calendar lets you select a date. That is not a ticket yet—finish the required visitor, payment and confirmation steps.
A seller accepts a request
A third party may still be waiting to issue it. Check whether the order is pending, instant-confirmed, admission only, or a guide and transport bundle.
The reservation is issued
Match every visitor and document to the confirmation. Save the issuer, entrance, session and current change or cancellation terms.
The date is sold out
Check another date or session on the official calendar. Do not treat an anecdotal walk-up, unconfirmed request or reseller search result as hidden stock.
Start here, then verify the calendar
The official-path desk
These links identify the responsible institution or government source. They do not show live availability on TangTrails, and a downstream seller must still identify who issues the ticket.
Beijing · Palace Museum
Forbidden City
- Published release
- 20:00 CST, 7 calendar days before
- Document
- Passport accepted; original booking ID at entry
- Weekly closure
- Monday, except statutory holidays
- Entry path
- Meridian Gate / South Gate; manual channel for passport
Verify the date and opening notice on the official site before booking transport.
Xi’an · Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum
Terracotta Warriors
- Published release
- No fixed release moment in the official material checked
- Document
- Advance real-name reservation; original passport at entry
- Arrival
- 30 minutes before the reserved time slot
- Entry path
- North Gate; visitor, ticket and ID must match
Open the current calendar now. Do not copy the Forbidden City’s seven-day rule.
A reusable workflow
Book in six checks
Use this before every museum, palace, panda base or timed landmark. The process transfers; the dates and rules do not.
- 01
Find the institution’s own domain
Start from the museum or municipal-government page, then follow its ticket link. A search ad or social-media QR code is not proof of an official channel.
- 02
Name the exact product
Separate admission, a free reservation, interior-gallery access, a guide, transport and a bundle before you enter personal or payment details.
- 03
Save the window in China time
Write down the attraction’s own release moment and closure day. China Standard Time is UTC+8; another museum’s seven-day rule does not transfer here.
- 04
Match the passport exactly
Use the document type and spelling requested by the official form. Never invent a local ID or alter a passport number to get around validation.
- 05
Read the result, not the button
Confirm whether the reservation is issued or still pending. The seller that takes payment may also control its own support, change and refund process.
- 06
Carry the original and check the gate
Bring the original valid booking passport. Recheck the entrance, session cutoff and latest official notice before leaving the hotel.
01 / Beijing
Palace Museum · Forbidden City
Treat the release moment as part of your itinerary.
The published official window is unusually specific, which makes a reminder useful. It still is not an inventory forecast.
Calculate my release timeThe planner converts that instant to your device’s time zone. Open the official calendar at the result; TangTrails does not know whether a date or gallery is available.
Before you reserve
- Check whether the date is Monday. The normal closure has a statutory-holiday exception, so read the current notice.
- Use the official English ticketing site and select passport as the document where requested.
- Copy every detail from the passport; do not translate, shorten or improvise a replacement ID.
- Distinguish general admission from the Treasure Gallery, Gallery of Clocks and any exhibition reservation.
On the visit day
- Bring the original, valid passport used in the reservation.
- Follow the current access and security notice to Meridian Gate / South Gate.
- Use the manual ticket-checking channel described for foreign-passport visitors.
- Do not assume a confirmation for the Palace Museum resolves every surrounding-area reservation or security requirement.
02 / Xi’an
Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum
Use the time slot, original passport and North Gate as one chain.
The official material checked publishes an advance real-name requirement but not one fixed release hour. The useful action is to inspect the official calendar—not to borrow Beijing’s rule.
Open official ticket informationThe site’s currently published ticket-check cutoff is 17:00 from March 16–November 15 and 16:30 from November 16–March 15. Major-holiday arrangements follow the latest announcement.
The ticket is more than Pit 1
The official page says the ticket covers the Terracotta Army Museum and the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum Archaeological Site Park (Lishan Garden), with a free shuttle between them. It estimates about 1.5 hours for each site. Protect enough time before the current ticket-check cutoff.
Official channel or third party?
Compare responsibility, not just convenience
A third party can provide an English checkout or combine a guide and transfer. It remains a separate seller with its own status and terms.
| Question | Institution’s official channel | Third-party seller |
|---|---|---|
| What is sold? | The institution’s current admission, gallery or reservation product | Could be admission, a pending request, guide, transfer or bundle—read the inclusions |
| Whose rule wins? | The attraction’s current admission and ID rules | Attraction rules still apply; seller issuance, support, changes and refunds may add separate terms |
| Is it confirmed? | Read the official order or reservation result | Check for issued / instant confirmation versus pending / request received |
| What should match? | Visitor, accepted document, date/session and current entrance rule | The same, plus the seller order and any named guide or transfer conditions |
| If it fails? | Use the institution’s current help or official notice | Identify what the seller will and will not handle before paying |
TangTrails has no affiliate ranking, seller partnership or evidence that one channel has separate attraction inventory. Always compare the final checkout, issuer and current terms.
When the normal path fails
Recover without inventing a workaround
“Sold out” and “the form rejected me” are different failures. Diagnose the state before paying another channel or changing the itinerary.
Change the date or confirmed product
Check another date/session and the official current notice. Treat a cancellation as available only when the official checkout confirms it. Confirm any replacement attraction through its own entry path.
Stop before altering identity data
Recheck document type and exact details. Try the institution’s official English/manual path or published help. Never substitute a Chinese ID, shorten a name or assume another passport will work.
Preserve the same visitor details
Check whether the bank blocked the payment and whether the current channel accepts the method. Use a tested second path; do not assume a charge means the ticket was issued.
Open the China payment fallback guide →Read what will be issued
Compare final price, issuance status, admission, guide/transfer inclusions and seller terms. A request accepted, “likely confirmation” or refund promise is not an attraction ticket.
Primary sources
Rules checked on August 3, 2026
Operational details can change by date, holiday and attraction. Reopen the responsible institution’s page before making a time-sensitive decision.
- Palace Museum official English ticketing siteReal-name reservation, passport, original document, seven-day 20:00 CST release, entry and opening notices · checked 2026-08-03
- Beijing Municipal Government — The Palace MuseumNo same-day ticket sales, Monday closure pattern, advance official booking · updated 2026-03-20; checked 2026-08-03
- Beijing 12345 — foreign phone, Palace Museum and Summer Palace ticket pathsPassport booking, original ID and manual Meridian Gate channel; illustrates site-specific phone paths · checked 2026-08-03
- Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum — official English ticket informationAdvance real-name reservation, passport original, time slot, North Gate and seasonal cutoff · checked 2026-08-03
- Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum — official visitor guideOfficial channels, capacity boundary, passport and latest-notice reminder · checked 2026-08-03
- Beijing government illustrated park-ticket guideA municipal starting point for Beijing parks; not a substitute for an attraction’s latest notice · checked 2026-08-03
TangTrails is independent and is not affiliated with the Palace Museum, Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum, Beijing or Xi’an government, or a ticket seller.
Quick answers
China attraction reservation FAQ
Can foreigners book Forbidden City tickets with a passport?
Yes. The current official English ticketing path accepts passports for non-mainland visitors. Use the exact requested details and bring the original valid passport used for the booking.
When do Forbidden City tickets go on sale?
The current official Palace Museum notice says tickets open from 20:00 China Standard Time seven calendar days before the visit. Verify the date on the official calendar because opening arrangements can change.
Can a foreigner buy a Forbidden City ticket at the gate if it is sold out?
Do not plan on it. The current official Palace Museum and Beijing government pages say no same-day tickets and require advance real-name booking. Traveler anecdotes are not a guaranteed exception.
Is the Forbidden City closed on Mondays?
The current official schedule says Mondays except statutory holidays. Holiday and special opening notices can change that pattern, so check the official notice for the exact date.
Do foreigners need to reserve Terracotta Warriors tickets?
The current official museum ticket page says all visitors, including foreign visitors, must reserve and purchase in advance through an official path.
When are Terracotta Warriors tickets released?
The official visitor material checked on August 3, 2026 does not publish one fixed release hour or universal advance window. Open the museum’s current official ticket calendar and latest notices for the date you need.
Do I need my original passport at Chinese attractions?
For the two attractions covered in detail, yes: both current official pages require the original valid booking document for verification. A photo or copy is not presented here as a substitute.
What should I do if tickets are sold out?
Recheck the official calendar for another date or session and current notices, then compare any third-party offer’s exact product and issuance status. Do not assume hidden stock, walk-up access or a pending request is a ticket.
Can TangTrails book an attraction for me now?
No. Booking Concierge is an early-access concept only. TangTrails is not taking payment or passport data, submitting reservations or promising eligibility, inventory, refunds or completion.