Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City Layover Tour

Beijing has become a popular destination for travelers from all around the world to explore the splendid Chinese history and culture. And Forbidden City, the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasty, is definitely your bucket list when you have a layover in Beijing. Better check details before planning a trip to Beijing.

Visa

Beijing offers 24 and 144 hours of visa-free policy for travelers. But there are important things you should be aware of.

24 hours free visa is suitable for all travelers with a confirmed flight seat to a third country or region(Taiwan, Hongkong and Macau are included).

While 144 hours of free visa only occupy to 53 countries.

24 Schengen Agreement Countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

15 Other European Countries: Russia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia (FYROM), Albania, Belarus, Monaco

6 American Countries: the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile

2 Oceania Countries: Australia, New Zealand

6 Asian Countries: Korea, Japan, Singapore, Brunei, United Arab Emirates, Qatar

Basic Information about Forbidden City

1. Opening Time: 8:30-17:00(Apr-Oct for peak season), stop entering 16:10 pm

                       8:30am-17:00pm(Nov-Mar for low season), stop entering 15:40pm

2. Entrance ticket: CNY 60/ USD 9 for peak season, CNY 40/ USD 6 for low season.

3. Forbidden City is closed on Mondays(except official holiday)

4. 80,000 tourists are allowed to enter every day.

5. Forbidden City implements the reservation policy, needs the full name and passport number to book entrance tickets.

6.  Will pay extra CNY 10/ USD 1.5 for Treasure Museum and Clock Museum each.

7. Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Jingshan Park are connected.     

How to Arrange the Forbidden City Layover Tour?

If you have limited time on Beijing layover, this will be a perfect arrangement for travelers.

Airport, 4 hours for getting out of the airport and ready for your departure flight.

Round-way transportation, 2-3 hours for Capital Airport(60km by road), 3-4 hours for Daxing airport(110km by road)

Time for visiting, 1.5-2 hours, can stay longer for an in-depth exploration.

And we don’t advise you to visit Forbidden City if your flight landing after 1 pm.

How to get to Forbidden City from Airport? 

There are multiple ways to get to Forbidden City, taking subway and taxi are popular ways.

Check the subway routes we listed for you!  

1. How to get to Forbidden City from Beijing Capital International Airport?

Take subway at T2 terminal to Dongzhimen(东直门), transfer line 2 Inner Ring to Jianguomen(建国门), transfer line 1 to Tiananmen West(天安门西) and find Exit B.

2. How to get to Forbidden City from Beijing Daxing International Airport?

Take Daxing airport subway to Caoqiao Station(草桥), transfer line 10 Outer Ring to Jiaomen West Station(角门西), transfer line 4 to Xidan(西单), transfer line 1 to Tiananmen West (天安门西) and find Exit B.

If you prefer taking a taxi, there is some important information you need to know.

1. Show this sentence the taxi driver ”Take me to the Forbidden City”(请带我去故宫).

2. Make clear about the price, don’t take an unlicensed taxi, some black car drivers may increase the price on the halfway!

3. Prepare Chinese currency in advance, credit and debit cards are not acceptable!

4. For your convenience, you can book a Forbidden City layover tour on our website.

Kindly Notes:

1. Forbidden City is huge, better wear comfortable shoes.

2. Bring at least 2 bottles of water.

3. Best time to visit: spring and autumn.

Do bring sunglasses, a hat or umbrella when visiting in summer.

Advise wearing a warm coat, scarf, mask, gloves when visiting in winter.

4.  Avoid weekends and Chinese holidays.

5. Meal, drinks, souvenir shops, bag storage, wheelchair accessible passage even baby care room are provided in Forbidden City for traveler’s convenience.

6. Jingshan Park, at the back of Forbidden City, is a good place to have a bird's view of the whole Forbidden City layout. 

7. If you would like to explore the history on your own, an automatic interpreter with cost CNY 40/ USD 6 will help you a lot. To enjoy a worry-free trip, Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City layover tour is highly recommended.