Located at No. 4 Jingshan Front Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing, the Palace Museum is a World Cultural Heritage and a national 5A-level tourist attraction. As the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties (formerly known as the Forbidden City), it is the largest and best-preserved ancient wooden architectural complex in the world, covering an area of about 720,000 square meters with a construction area of about 150,000 square meters. It has more than 70 palaces and over 980 rooms. The buildings feature yellow glazed tile roofs, blue-and-white stone bases, and resplendent color paintings, distributed symmetrically along the central axis, strictly following feudal etiquette and showcasing the layout characteristics of "front court and back bedroom, left ancestral temple and right social altar."
History and Culture
The Palace Museum was built in the 4th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty (1406) and completed in the 18th year of Yongle (1420). Experiencing 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties, it is the pinnacle of ancient Chinese court architecture. The Palace Museum was officially established in 1925 and is now a comprehensive museum integrating cultural relics protection, exhibition, and research, with a collection of more than 1.86 million cultural relics (sets), of which precious cultural relics account for over 90%, covering 25 categories such as bronzes, calligraphy and painting, and ceramics.
Historically, due to the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the cultural relics of the Palace Museum began to be moved south in 1933, going through Shanghai, Nanjing, Sichuan and other places, and returned to Beijing in 1947, creating a miracle in the protection of human cultural heritage. Today, the Palace Museum is not only the material carrier of ancient Chinese court culture, but also rejuvenates more than 600 years of history and culture in the contemporary era through special exhibitions like "A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains" and "Palace Museum cultural and creative products."
Main Attractions
Hall of Supreme Harmony
The Hall of Supreme Harmony is the core building of the outer court, 35.05 meters high, 11 bays wide, with a construction area of 2,377 square meters. It is the largest and highest-ranking palace in the Palace Museum. The 72 gilded wooden columns in the hall support the double-eave hip roof, and a 2-meter-high Nine-Dragon Gilded Throne is set in the center. The coiled dragon in the caisson holds a pearl, which was the place where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties held grand ceremonies such as enthronement and weddings. The three-tiered white marble platform outside the hall is carved with 1,142 drainage chi heads, combining practical and decorative functions.
Hall of Mental Cultivation
The Hall of Mental Cultivation was the bedroom and political center of the emperors of the Qing Dynasty, covering an area of about 5,000 square meters, composed of the main hall, the back bedroom, and east-west surrounding rooms. During the reigns from Yongzheng to Xuantong, eight emperors lived here. The East Warm Chamber was the place where Empress Dowager Cixi listened to politics behind a curtain, and the West Warm Chamber "Sanxitang" is famous for collecting rare calligraphy treasures such as Wang Xizhi's "Kuai Xue Shi Qing Tie". The furnishings in the hall retain the original appearance of the court life in the Qing Dynasty.
Imperial Garden
The Imperial Garden is a royal garden for emperors and empresses to rest, covering an area of about 12,000 square meters, with the Qin'an Hall as the center and more than 20 pavilions and towers distributed around. There are more than 160 ancient cypresses with a tree age of more than 300 years in the garden, among which the "Lianli Cypress" and "Nine-Dragon Cypress" are rare landscapes. The stacked stone rockery "Duixiu Mountain" is about 10 meters high, and the Yujing Pavilion on the top is the place where emperors and empresses climbed to enjoy the scenery on the Double Ninth Festival. The garden path is paved with colored pebbles into auspicious patterns such as "Fu" and "Lu", both ornamental and cultural.
Treasure Gallery
The Treasure Gallery (separate ticket required) is located in the northeast of the Palace Museum. Originally built as the Ningshou Palace area during the Qianlong reign, it now displays more than 400 pieces of court treasures. The town hall treasure "Golden Cup of Eternal Stability" is made of 80% gold and inlaid with pearls and gemstones. It is a special wine cup for the New Year's Day opening ceremony of the emperors of the Qing Dynasty. The "Empress Dowager Cixi's Phoenix Crown" is decorated with 5 large Dongzhu pearls and more than 100 gemstones, weighing about 2,300 grams, showing the peak level of Qing Dynasty court craftsmanship.
Food
Corner Tower Café
Located on the east side outside the Shenwu Gate, Corner Tower Café is the first cultural and creative theme coffee shop in the Palace Museum. The signature "Kangxi's Favorite Chocolate" is inspired by the chocolate introduced to China during the Kangxi reign, paired with a customized cup sleeve of the Palace Museum. The "Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains Roll" cake restores the green and blue color matching of "A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains", with a daily limited supply of 200 portions. The average consumption is about 60 yuan. The interior decoration integrates court elements, such as wooden partitions imitating the doors and windows of the Palace Museum and murals of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival."
Siji Minfu (Forbidden City Branch)
As a popular restaurant around the Palace Museum, Siji Minfu (Forbidden City Branch) specializes in Beijing cuisine. Its roast duck is made of Beijing Peking duck, roasted with fruit charcoal fire for 45 minutes. The duck slicing master processes more than 500 ducks every day, and the crispness of the duck skin reaches more than 90 points in the test. The third-floor terrace of the restaurant is an excellent location for shooting the panoramic view of the Palace Museum. The "Bele Roast Meat" is made of marinated beef tenderloin cooked on an iron plate, with an annual sales volume of more than 100,000 portions. The average consumption is about 180 yuan, and it needs to wait in line for more than 2 hours on weekends.
Old Beijing Noodles with Fried Sauce
"Haiwanju" outside the east gate of the Palace Museum is the best choice for tasting Old Beijing Noodles with Fried Sauce. The noodles are hand-stretched, about 250 grams per bowl, paired with fried sauce of streaky pork dices fried with Liubiju yellow sauce, and 8 kinds of side dishes such as cucumber and bean sprouts. The store uses more than 100 kilograms of sauce every day, and the repeat purchase rate of noodles reaches 75%. The price is 38 yuan per bowl. You can also pair with court-improved cold dishes such as "Qianlong Cabbage" to experience the same flavor as the imperial dining room in the Qing Dynasty.
Tickets
The ticket price is 60 yuan per person.
You can search for the official WeChat public account "故宫博物院" in WeChat to get the latest news or buy tickets online.
Opening Hours
It is open all year round (closed on Mondays, except for legal holidays). The opening hours in the peak season (April 1 - October 31) are 8:30 - 17:00 (admission stops at 16:30), and in the off-season (November 1 - March 31 of the following year) are 8:30 - 16:30 (admission stops at 16:00). The opening hours of the Treasure Gallery and the Clock Gallery are the same as those of the main scenic area. The first 2,000 reserved visitors every Wednesday can participate in the "theme free explanation" (9:00 - 11:00 / 13:00 - 15:00). During the off-season from December to February, the Palace Museum extends its opening hours to 20:00 (admission stops at 19:30) every Wednesday, only opening the route of Wumen - Hall of Supreme Harmony - Hall of Preserving Harmony - East Six Palaces - Treasure Gallery.
Tour Route
Recommended half-day tour route: Enter from Wumen → Visit the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Hall of Central Harmony, Hall of Preserving Harmony, Qianqing Palace, Jiaotai Palace, Kunning Palace, and Imperial Garden along the central axis → Exit from Shenwu Gate (about 3 hours). The in-depth one-day tour can add the West Six Palaces (Chuxiu Palace, Yikun Palace), East Six Palaces (Yanxi Palace, Yonghe Palace), Treasure Gallery (Ningshou Palace area), and Clock Gallery (Fengxian Hall), with the whole journey taking about 6 hours. It is recommended to bring a portable chair to rest in the Imperial Garden. From late April to early May every year, when the crabapple flowers in front of the Wenhua Hall are in full bloom, you can add the "Wenhua Hall - Wuying Hall" calligraphy and painting exhibition tour route (additional reservation required).
Transportation
- Subway: Take Line 1 to "Tiananmen East" Station (Exit A) and walk about 900 meters to Wumen; or take Line 8 to "China Art Museum" Station (Exit D) and walk 1.2 kilometers to Shenwu Gate.
- Bus: The bus stops around Wumen are "Tiananmen East" (Routes 1, 2, 52, 120) and "Tiananmen West" (Routes 1, 52, 120); the bus stops near Shenwu Gate are "The Palace Museum" (Route 58) and "Jingshan East Gate" (Routes 5, 60, 111).
- Self-driving: There is no special parking lot around the Palace Museum. The nearest parking lots are the underground parking lot of "Beijing APM Shopping Center" outside Donghua Gate, with about 800 parking spaces, charging 15 yuan per hour, and it takes about 10 minutes to walk to Wumen; or park in the parking lot of "Capital Hotel" on Qianmen East Street (300 parking spaces, 12 yuan per hour).
Must-visit Attractions
- Hall of Supreme Harmony: 35.05 meters high, the venue for grand ceremonies in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Nine-Dragon Gilded Throne in the hall requires close observation of the Raised Paste Gilding process of the coiled dragon caisson. The best shooting angle is to shoot the double-eave hip roof from below the platform.
- Hall of Mental Cultivation: The political center of the Qing Dynasty. The "Sanxitang" in the West Warm Chamber is only 8 square meters but houses top-level calligraphy treasures. The scene of Empress Dowager Cixi listening to politics behind a curtain in the East Warm Chamber has a restoration degree of 95%. It is recommended to follow the docent to understand the historical background of the "Xinyou Coup".
- Treasure Gallery: Among more than 400 pieces of court cultural relics, the chasing and inlaying process of the "Golden Cup of Eternal Stability" (12.5 cm high) and the diancui technique of the "Empress's Coronet" (decorated with 512 pearls) are must-see highlights. Professional cultural relic restorers demonstrate on-site at 10:00 and 14:00 every day.
- Imperial Garden: Among more than 160 ancient cypresses, the "Lianli Cypress" (300 years old) is in front of the Chicao Hall, a symbol of love between emperors and empresses; the "Yungen" rare stone in Duixiu Mountain weighs about 5 tons, a relic of the Ming Dynasty. The best shooting period is at 10 a.m. during side lighting.
Tour Tips
- It is recommended to play for 4-6 hours. In spring (April-May), enjoy the crabapple flowers in Wenhua Hall; in autumn (October-November), take photos of the golden ginkgo trees (Duanhong Bridge, Eighteen Chinese Scholar Trees area). Avoid the high-temperature peak in summer (July-August) (with an average daily tourist volume of more than 50,000).
- There is no restaurant in the Palace Museum, only a convenience store at the exit of Shenwu Gate. It is recommended to bring a light lunch (such as a sandwich). At noon, you can dine on the bench on the east side of Tianyi Gate in the Imperial Garden (where there are shading trees and less traffic).
- Wear light and non-slip shoes when visiting (the ground of the Palace Museum is made of Ming Dynasty city bricks, and some areas are worn and slippery). Bring a sunscreen coat in summer (there is no shelter from Wumen to the Hall of Supreme Harmony), and prepare hand warmers in winter (there is no heating in the hall, and the room temperature is about 5℃).
- Download the official APP of "The Palace Museum" in advance, which contains 8 theme explanation routes (such as "Calligraphy Journey" and "Ceramic Road"), and supports AR real-scene navigation, which can accurately locate the cultural relic stories at the current location.
- If you need to shoot the scene of the Palace Museum without people, it is recommended to choose the off-season Wednesday night session (17:00-20:00), when the tourist volume is only 1/3 of the daytime. The square in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony can shoot "empty shots", but note that only part of the area is open at night.
Notes
- The Palace Museum implements "one-way visit". Enter from Wumen (South Gate) and exit from Shenwu Gate (North Gate) or Donghua Gate (East Gate).Opposite direction is strictly prohibited, and violators will be persuaded to leave.
- Large luggage exceeding 30 cm × 40 cm is prohibited. There is a free luggage storage office at the entrance of Shenwu Gate (open from 8:30 to 18:00 every day). The luggage must be retrieved before the museum closes on the same day. An overtime storage fee of 5 yuan per hour will be charged for overdue.
- The steps of the Treasure Gallery and the Clock Gallery are mostly original stones of the Ming Dynasty, and some are up to 18 cm high. It is recommended that the elderly and children be assisted by family members. Using flash when photographing cultural relics is strictly prohibited (it will accelerate the fading of silk fabrics).
- Smoking is prohibited in the Palace Museum. Intelligent smoke alarms are set up around the three main halls. Violators of smoking will face a fine of 200 yuan; trampling on the lawn in the Imperial Garden is prohibited, and violators will be educated on the spot.
- In case of extreme weather such as heavy rain and strong wind, the square in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony may be temporarily closed, and the staff will guide visitors to indoor exhibition halls such as the Wenhua Hall. In snowy days from December to February, the Palace Museum will close 1 hour in advance. It is recommended to follow the official Weibo "The Palace Museum" for real-time notifications.