Lama Temple tickets for foreigners: the short answer
The Lama Temple (雍和宫, Yonghegong) charges ¥25 for a full ticket and ¥12 for a half-price ticket. If you hold a passport, you can buy a full-price ticket online and enter by QR code. If you qualify for half price, you buy a paper ticket at the window with your original document. The temple opens at 09:00 and closes at 17:00 from April to October, and at 16:30 from November to March.
The ticket rules below come from the temple's official website. The ticket page shows a 2017 publish date but includes newer rules, such as online ticketing, and it gives no revision date.
Lama Temple ticket price: who gets free or half-price entry?
Several free-entry categories require Chinese documents. Foreign visitors may also qualify for half price under the age or student rules.
Free entry
- Children aged 6 or under (6 included), or 1.2 m or shorter (1.2 m included), with a valid ID document. The page says 有效证件 (valid ID document) and does not name passports for this rule. If you travel with a young child, ask the visitor center before you go (numbers below).
- Disabled people with the second-generation disability certificate from the China Disabled Persons' Federation, and disabled military, police and fire-rescue personnel with their certificate.
- Retired cadres (离休干部) with their certificate.
- Serving and retired military personnel and military civilian staff with a valid document, and survivors of martyrs and of military personnel who died on duty or of illness, with the survivor preferential card.
- Family members of serving military personnel on 1 August (Army Day), with proof.
- Serving and retired fire-rescue personnel and fire-rescue academy students, with a valid document.
- Holders of the Beijing Civil Affairs preferential card or temporary card.
Visitors who get free entry show the original ID at the entry gate by hand check. They do not need a paper ticket.
Half price (¥12)
- Ages over 6 up to and including 18, and full-time students at undergraduate level and below, with a student card or other valid document. Graduate students, adult education, evening and correspondence courses are excluded.
- People aged 60 or over (60 included), with a senior card, ID card or other valid document.
- Holders of the Beijing social security benefit certificate, who show the original at any ticket window.
The same ticket page tells passport holders to bring the original valid document to the ticket processing center for a half-price paper ticket. The discount lists do not say which foreign documents count as proof of age or student status, so ask at the window or call the visitor center if you are unsure.
How to buy Lama Temple tickets with a foreign passport
The temple sells tickets two ways and says it uses both together.
- Online: buy in the WeChat official account 雍和宫游客信众服务 (Yonghegong Visitor and Devotee Service). You enter your details in the account to buy.
- On site: buy a paper ticket at the ticket processing center (票务处理中心).
Passport holders buying online
Holders of passports, and of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan documents, can buy a full-price ticket online. After you pay, you get an entry QR code. On the visit day, you scan it at the entry gate.
- Name and ID number are optional for a full-price ticket. If you leave them blank, use the QR code to enter.
- One valid ID document can buy one ticket per day. A ticket is for one person and one use.
- One WeChat account can buy up to 5 tickets per day.
You need WeChat to use the online route. The page does not say how a foreign visitor should set up the account or pay inside it, and it does not list the payment methods accepted online or at the window. For general tips on paying in China, see Is cash accepted in China.
Half-price tickets with a passport
A half-price ticket cannot be bought online with a passport. Take the original valid document to the ticket processing center and buy a paper ticket there.
Only buy from the temple
The temple states that it has never authorized any third-party platform or person to sell or resell its tickets, in any form. It tells visitors not to buy through other channels. Use the temple's WeChat account or its ticket windows.
Do you need to book Lama Temple tickets in advance?
The temple's ticket page does not say that you must reserve, and it does not say that you can walk in without one. It says tickets are sold at the on-site windows and online. It does not mention a daily quota or a time-slot system. It also does not say whether you pick a visit date when you buy online; it only says you scan the QR code on the visit day.
If you want to avoid the window, buy a full-price ticket online before you arrive. If you need half price, go to the window with your original document.
Lama Temple opening hours and last entry
Opening hours change with the season. The ticket page and the opening-hours page give the same times.
| Season | Open | Last ticket sales / last entry | Site cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer and autumn: 1 April to 31 October | 09:00 | 16:30 | 17:00 |
| Winter and spring: 1 November to 31 March | 09:00 | 16:00 | 16:30 |
Last ticket sales and last entry happen at the same time, 30 minutes before the site is cleared. Plan to arrive well before then, so you are not turned away at the gate.
The opening-hours page gives hours only. It does not state a weekly closing day, so it does not tell you whether any weekday is a rest day.
Is the Lama Temple open on public holidays like National Day?
Before each holiday, the temple publishes a notice titled "reception arrangement" (接待保障公告). Its news list shows one for the 2026 New Year's Day holiday, one for the 2026 Spring Festival, and one for the 2025 National Day and Mid-Autumn holiday, published on 24 September 2025. Older holidays in 2025 and 2024 have notices too.
The 2025 National Day and Mid-Autumn holiday notice is posted as pictures. For holiday hours and ticket arrangements, check the temple's official website or WeChat account for the notice covering your visit.
As of 4 October 2026, the news list shows no reception notice for the 2026 National Day holiday. If you plan to visit during a Chinese public holiday, look at the temple's news list or its WeChat account for a notice before you go.
The news list also holds two closure-related notices, "temporary closure" (临时关闭公告) and "resumed opening" (恢复开放公告), listed together near the top, plus an earlier notice titled "2025年9月3日暂停开放公告" (suspension of opening on 3 September 2025). The temple's news list gives the notice titles but does not explain the reasons for the closures.
Lama Temple rules: incense, photos and smoking
The opening-hours page lists these visiting rules:
- Three sticks of incense are suitable (三支香为宜).
- No burning incense, taking photos or filming inside the halls (殿内请勿燃香、照相、摄影).
- Incense burning stops when the wind is strong.
- No smoking in the grounds.
- Protect cultural relics and keep the place clean.
The rules say photos are banned inside the halls. They say nothing about photos in the open courtyards. Neither the ticket page nor the opening-hours page mentions a dress code, bag checks, or a passport check at the gate.
How to get to the Lama Temple by subway
The temple's own pages do not name a subway station, line or exit, so this page does not either. What the official pages do give is the location. The Beijing municipal government page puts the temple at No. 12 Yonghegong Street, Dongcheng District (东城区雍和宫大街12号). The temple's introduction says it sits just inside the northeast corner of Beijing's North Second Ring Road (北二环东北角内侧).
The simplest route is to search 雍和宫 or Yonghegong in a maps app and let it plan the subway trip from your hotel. For the wider city, see the Beijing travel guide. We don't sell Lama Temple tickets. We can help you plan the day and tell you how to book. A local guide or a private car for the day is possible; send your dates for a quote.
Lama Temple ticket refund and phone numbers
Unused online tickets can be refunded by the buyer. The temple says it processes the refund within 5 days of your request. Refund hours are 06:00-21:00. If you are past the time limit, call customer service on 010-84191906 or 010-84191907. The page does not state what the time limit is.
For questions about the visit itself, the visitor center (游客中心, for help, complaints and enquiries) answers on 010-84191906, 010-84191907 and 010-84191908. The temple's main line is 010-84191919.
The temple's WeChat account also handles invoices. The ticket page says an e-invoice goes to your email within 3 days of a successful request.
