Forbidden City Tickets Sell Out in Hours; NLGX and Other Major Attractions Also Reopen

Joey Knotts, Contributing Editor | Apr 30, 2020 1:28 pm | 5 comments | 1592 reads

[Update May 7, 2pm] Foreigners cannot currently enter the National Museum or the Capital Museum because of an oversight with the reservation systems, which only allow Chinese nationals to reserve. Additionally, the desk that would usually process foreigners is not currently being staffed. The museum was unable to give any indication on if or when foreigners would again be allowed to enter. For this reason, we would recommend calling ahead before trying to visit any of the city's museums at this time.

The Forbidden City is one of the last major Beijing attractions to announce its reopening, but it too will be open for the May Day holiday, reports Beijing News. Admission will run from 8.30am to 4pm, though visitors can stay until 5pm. However, you're unlikely to even get in over the holiday, as all tickets for May 1-5 have already sold out following their release on Wednesday.

It may be worth holding off anyway, since only half of the grounds are open to the public, including the great halls of the Outer Court, the palaces of the Inner Court, the Palace of Longevity and Peace, and the Garden Palace of Compassion and Tranquility. Additionally, all indoor attractions will remain closed until a later date.

Additionally, famous hutong Nanluogu Xiang will be opening to visitors who book ahead, though only the main alleyway will be open while intersecting roads will be off-limits to visitors.

Prospective visitors should note, however, that these will be among the most controlled attractions in the city, requiring real-name registration using a valid ID as well as the Beijing Health Kit app, and a cap on the total number of daily visitors.

Ticketing information

  • Forbidden City: Tickets RMB 60. Limit 5,000 visitors per day, must book at least one day in advance via the Forbidden City website. Admissions 8.30am-4pm.
  • National Museum: Free entry. Limited to 3,000 visitors per day. Admissions 9am-5pm.
  • Capital Museum: Free entry, must reserve in advance by calling 6339 3339 between 9am-5pm. Limited to 1,000 visitors per day. Admissions from 10am-3pm.
  • Nanluogu Xiang: Free entry, must reserve in advance by following this link. Admissions 10am-4pm.
  • Chaoyang Park (and others): As of May 1, visitors to Chaoyang Park, Olympic Park, and several others will need to reserve at least one day in advance until further notice. To do so, follow this link and login to the 京城之约 app using your passport, fill in your details, and select the date you'd like to visit as well as morning or afternoon.

READ: No Need to Leave Beijing, These Tours Are Back for May Day Holiday

Images: Ling Tang (via Unsplash), Beijing Daily

Comments

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Re: Forbidden City Tickets Sell Out in Hours; NLGX and Other...
Posted May 2, 2020 12:12pm by Sikaote
(Reply to a previous comment)

Of course I'm making my life hard. I'm a glutton for punishment, hence I live in China with my Chinese wife.

Giovanni Martini wrote:
xz576 wrote:

I think you guys are making it harder than it is... When you go someplace, just ask the guard which QR code to scan, if any. You don't even have to ask, they usually just tell you. The cell phone carrier one always worked for non-Chinese, and the health kit works now. For me at least, the one called "Health Kit" in Wechat allows passports, but the one called "北京健康宝" requires a Chinese ID (it's the same interface otherwise).

Actually, the original gripe was that some sentinel-types don't know what Health Kit is in any language. I was helping a neighbor's dad move and the guard didn't know what Health Kit was. He probably thought it was a gay dating app for bald guys past due-date. But he was willing to accept the gate pass from my compound next door as a token of my being disease free. Low tech solutions to tech questions: I love 'em!

Re: Forbidden City Tickets Sell Out in Hours; NLGX and Other...
Posted May 2, 2020 12:10pm by Sikaote
(Reply to a previous comment)

Yeah the cell phone one is basically the same as the Health Kit app in that both completely rely on cell phone data. I know many people that travel with burner phones. Someone from Beijing travelling to say, Wuhan, gets infected and comes back to Beijing and covid-45 (I mean covid-19) is back into circulation.

Steve111 wrote:

some places need you to scan the qr code corresponding to your cell phone carrier. I've had several situations where they required the health kit, and then a few times when they refused the health kit and required the cell one.

Re: Forbidden City Tickets Sell Out in Hours; NLGX and Other...
Posted May 1, 2020 1:09pm by xz576

I think you guys are making it harder than it is... When you go someplace, just ask the guard which QR code to scan, if any. You don't even have to ask, they usually just tell you. The cell phone carrier one always worked for non-Chinese, and the health kit works now. For me at least, the one called "Health Kit" in Wechat allows passports, but the one called "北京健康宝" requires a Chinese ID (it's the same interface otherwise).

Re: Forbidden City Tickets Sell Out in Hours; NLGX and Other...
Posted May 1, 2020 11:47am by Steve111

some places need you to scan the qr code corresponding to your cell phone carrier. I've had several situations where they required the health kit, and then a few times when they refused the health kit and required the cell one.

Re: Forbidden City Tickets Sell Out in Hours; NLGX and Other...
Posted May 1, 2020 7:13am by Sikaote

as well as the Beijing Health Kit app

I will believe that when I see it with my own eyes. Not one person in authority that I've shown my Beijing Health Kit app has any idea what it is.