Jiuzhaigou tickets in 2026: the short answer
You reserve a ticket in your real name before you travel, on the park's own WeChat mini-program. In peak season (1 April to 15 November) that is ¥280 per person with the shuttle bus. In peak season the park lets in at most 41,000 people a day, and it suggests booking 7 to 14 days ahead. The park says passport details can be used to buy tickets online; the sections below show exactly what its pages say and leave open.
Jiuzhaigou ticket price in 2026, and what the shuttle bus costs
The park prices the entrance ticket and the shuttle bus ticket as two separate items on its ticket page. That page does not say whether the shuttle ticket is optional.
For peak season the park's 8 July 2026 notice adds it up for you: ¥190 ticket plus ¥90 shuttle bus is ¥280 per person. The 29 July 2026 notice repeats the same two prices. Off-season is ¥80 plus ¥80, so ¥160 per person.
Insurance is ¥10 per person and voluntary. That comes from the Aba Prefecture government's report of 26 March 2026 on the peak-season notice, and from the park's off-season notice of 11 November 2025.
Use the park's own prices. Its ticket page warns against any cheap ticket or ‘fast entry’ (快速入园) offer.
Can a foreigner book Jiuzhaigou tickets with a passport?
The park's rules pages speak only of the Chinese ID card (身份证). The ticket page says purchase and gate checks follow “人证合一” (the person must match the booking): every visitor reserves in their real name and brings the original of their own valid ID card to enter. None of those rules pages mentions passports.
The park's own news items do:
- 3 October 2026: the park says it keeps pushing smart ticketing and has made it possible to buy tickets online with passport details (实现护照信息在线购票), with signs and help in several languages. The same item says the park had received 357,900 inbound visitors in 2026 by that date, up 14.28%. (park news)
- 14 August 2026: a visitor from the UK queued and scanned his passport to enter the park. (park news)
- 4 February 2025: in its Spring Festival review the park lists booking by passport number (护照号直接订票), a barrier-free dedicated channel for foreign visitors, multilingual service, AI translation screens and foreign-card payment (便捷外卡支付). It does not say what the card payment is for. (park news)
So the park's news says passport details can be used to book online and passports are scanned at the gate. What these pages don't spell out: which booking channel takes passports (the official account, the mini-program, Aba Tourism or an OTA), how to choose the document type when you book, and whether Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan permits work. Until you know, the safest step is to call the ticket lines: 0837-7769999, or 400-088-6969 and press 1.
Book in your own name, with the details that match the document you will show. The park calls forging or borrowing identity details to buy tickets illegal and says offenders are handed to the police.
Where to book Jiuzhaigou tickets, and how far ahead
The park's notice of 2 October 2026 gives two official routes:
- Search WeChat for the mini-program 九寨沟旅游官方平台 (Jiuzhaigou official platform), or follow the WeChat official account of the same name. Ticket line: 0837-7769999.
- Or use the mini-program 阿坝旅游网 (Aba Tourism). Ticket line: 400-088-6969, press 1.
The park's ticket page also names the WeChat official account 九寨沟, with the menu path 游览必看 then 门票预订. The park's ticket purchase FAQ gives two steps: follow the account, then tap the bottom menu 游览必看 - 门票预定. That FAQ page shows no date.
How far ahead. The park suggests 7 to 14 days (notices of 8 July and 28 September 2026) and says “非预约，不出行”: no reservation, no trip. Holidays and summer fill up early, as the next section shows.
Ctrip, Meituan and other third-party sites
Of the park pages cited on this page, only its notice of 15 August 2024 lists OTA channels. It names Ctrip (携程), Meituan (美团), Douyin (抖音), Tongcheng (同程) and Gaode (高德) alongside the Aba Tourism website and WeChat account and the 九寨沟 WeChat account. It tells buyers to look for the official certification mark, and not to buy through travel-agency shops or private-account links. It says the park had pushed platforms to take down tickets that were not connected directly to its system, because some bookings carried details that did not match the real visitor, so those visitors could not enter.
That notice is from 2024, and the 2026 notices only name the park's own WeChat account and mini-program (九寨沟旅游官方平台) and the Aba Tourism mini-program. If you want to use an OTA, ask the ticket line on the day whether it is still an official channel.
Jiuzhaigou sold out? Daily limit and what to do
Peak-season entry is capped at 41,000 people a day, and the park's wording is 售罄即止: once it is sold out, it stops. The cap was reached on three days in a row during the 2026 May Day holiday, and National Day tickets sold out in advance (park news of 3 October); it was also reached on 12 to 14 August 2026 (park news of 14 August). In its notice of 2 October 2026 the park said that as of 18:00 that day, 6 October was at 41,000 booked and 3 to 6 October were all sold out.
If your date is sold out, the same notice gives these options:
- Waitlist (候补预订). When a day hits the cap, a waitlist starts in the 九寨沟旅游官方平台 mini-program. Cancelled tickets are assigned in order. If the waitlist does not succeed, the money goes back by the original route.
- Refresh at 08:00 and 17:00. Returned tickets go back into the stock pool, and the park releases stock every day at 08:00 and 17:00. Refresh the mini-program then.
- Another date, or a nearby sight. The park suggests Shenxianchi in Jiuzhaigou County and Jiawuhai Panda Park (甲勿海·熊猫园).
To see how full the coming week is, follow the park's WeChat official account and tap 游览必看 then 预定人数. The park's remaining-tickets FAQ says this shows bookings for the next seven days.
Winter. The park's off-season notice of 11 November 2025 covered 16 November 2025 to 31 March 2026 and set the daily cap at 23,000. In the Spring Festival review of 4 February 2025 the park says it reached its off-season maximum on six days in a row. The park issues a notice for each off-season, so read the one for the winter you plan to visit.
What time does Jiuzhaigou open and close?
The last entry is 14:00 in every notice, and the park closes at 18:00. What changes is the start time.
| Period | Entry | Closes | Where it is written |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary peak-season days (1 April to 15 November) | 8:00-14:00 | 18:00 | Notice of 8 July 2026; the Aba Prefecture government page of 26 March 2026 says the same for the 2026 peak season |
| National Day holiday | 7:30-14:00 | 18:00 | Notices of 28 September and 2 October 2026 |
| Last winter (16 November 2025 to 31 March 2026) | 8:30-14:00 | 18:00 | Off-season notice of 11 November 2025 |
So it is 8:00 on ordinary peak days and 7:30 during the National Day holiday. The 2 October notice says the park stops letting visitors in after 14:00. Neither National Day notice gives an end date for the 7:30 start, so read the notice for your date.
The off-season notice also says some sights and boardwalks close for seasonal rest. It does not name which. For a winter trip, read that winter's notice for the cap and the hours before you book.
Are there discounts or free tickets for children, students and seniors?
The ticket page says visitors who qualify for discounted or free tickets, and it names seniors and students (老人、学生等), must book the matching ticket type in advance. At the gate they must show the original of their own discount document, or they cannot enter. The 2 October notice adds that discounted and free visitors need a real-name reservation too.
The park's ticket page and notices don't give ages, discount amounts or the list of eligible documents. The 8 July 2026 notice sends readers to the 九寨沟旅游官方平台 mini-program for more discounted ticket types. They also don't say whether a foreign student card or a foreign senior's passport counts as a discount document. Ask the ticket line before you book.
For children, the park's ticket page and notices name no child ticket. The Aba Prefecture page of 26 March 2026 says minors must visit with a guardian.
Is Jiuzhaigou open after the July 2026 mudslide?
Yes: after a local mudslide on 26 July, the park's notice of 29 July 2026 says the whole park reopened from 30 July 2026, with the daily cap back at 41,000 and peak-season prices in force.
Before you go in
The park's National Day tips of 28 September 2026 say the park sits at 2,000 to 3,100 metres, so go slowly, avoid hard exercise and do not drink large amounts of water. The park runs a ‘visit inside, sleep outside’ rule (沟内游、沟外住): no overnight stays inside. Smoking, flammable items, drones and pets are all banned.
Getting to Jiuzhaigou, and combining it with Chengdu
For routes and where to stay, see our Jiuzhaigou travel guide and the Chengdu guide. If you are pairing the two, our Chengdu Panda Base tickets page covers the other big booking on that route.
