Is the National Museum of China free, and do you need to book?
Yes, it is free. And yes, you must book. The museum runs a reservation-only entry system, and the booking is a real-name one: you use a valid ID to complete real-name authentication, then reserve a free ticket for a date and a time slot. The rules are written for all visitors. Foreign visitors also need a real-name reservation.
The museum (中国国家博物馆) sits on the east side of Tiananmen Square. Its address is No. 16 East Chang'an Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing. By metro, take Line 1 to Tian'anmen East Station and leave by Exit C or D. The museum's page also lists buses No. 1, 2, 52, 82 and 120, Sightseeing Line 2, and Tourist Bus Lines 1 and 2, all to Tian'anmen East Station. For the wider trip, see our Beijing travel guide.
How to book National Museum of China tickets as a foreigner
The museum's English Admission page names one booking channel: its official website. The Chinese notice (观众预约须知, dated 25 July 2025) names more, including a WeChat mini-program and a WeChat official account. The English booking site says Chinese citizens are advised to buy through the official mini-program with their ID card. If you don't read Chinese and don't use a Chinese ID card, the English site is the easier path. We'd book there.
- Open the official English reservation site. Its own notice says visitors should use their email to make reservations.
- Choose the visit date. The page shows the steps as: select the visit date, add visitors, confirm the reservation. Its calendar marks dates that are sold out as "Full".
- Select an exhibition, then choose a time slot. There are three: 9:00-11:00, 11:00-13:30 and 13:30-16:00. From 1 June to 31 October the third slot runs 13:30-16:30.
- Add each visitor with a valid ID. The museum's English pages say only "valid ID". They do not list which ID types the site accepts, and they do not name passports.
- Confirm. The system sends a confirmation message automatically. Keep it: you show it at the gate.
Tickets for a date open up to 7 days ahead, and new tickets are released every day at 17:00 Beijing time. The Beijing municipal government's English site listed the same 17:00 start in a 24 June 2024 list of attractions that still needed reservations. That list is from 2024, so treat it as a second source, not the current rule.
Book only on official channels
The museum's notices of 23 September 2025 and 26 January 2026 say it is working with the police against ticket scalping. The January 2026 notice also mentions unapproved guided tours. They warn visitors to book only through official channels, to avoid leaked personal data, scams and lost money. The English booking site also says accounts registered with virtual phone numbers will be cleared and their reservations cancelled.
Booking limits: how many tickets can you reserve?
The museum has published two sets of limits, and they differ. Here is each one with its date.
| Rule | Admission page, effective 1 August 2025 | Booking site notice, in effect from 25 September 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Per account | 1 reservation per week, up to 5 persons per booking | Five reservation quotas for each visit date |
| Per ID number | 4 reservations a month, 1 a day | 1 reservation a day |
| Children | Aged 14 and under: booked by an accompanying adult, who enters with them | No more than three minors under 14 in one order |
We treat the 2025 rules as the current ones, because they are the newer and the Admission page is where the museum publishes them. But the booking site still shows the 2023 wording, and neither page says which one the system enforces.
The 2025 page adds more:
- You can add up to 10 frequently used contacts. A contact cannot be changed within 30 days after you add it.
- Cancelling still counts toward your limit.
- Three cumulative no-shows on one ID number mean a 30-day ban on booking.
- If you deactivate your account, it cannot be logged into or registered again for 30 days.
The booking site adds a refund rule: you can refund through the original online channel before 15:00 on the visit day, if the voucher has not been checked. The Admission page gives the same 15:00 deadline for cancellations.
National Museum of China tickets sold out? Can you go without a reservation?
The museum's Admission page says: "Visitors without a reservation, whose ID information does not match, or who miss their reserved time slot will not be permitted to enter."
Dates can fill up. On 4 October 2026, the English booking site showed Full for every date from 5 to 10 October. So book as soon as tickets open at 17:00, and more so around public holidays. The museum's Admission page and the English booking site's Refund Instructions don't say whether cancelled tickets go back on sale.
Opening hours, last admission and closed days
The hours change with the season. These apply to your trip if you go from 1 June to 31 October (peak season, which includes now):
- Open until 17:30.
- Last admission at 16:30.
- Third entry slot: 13:30-16:30.
For the rest of the year (1 November to 31 May), the Admission page gives 9:00-17:00 with last admission at 16:00. The Chinese reservation page shows these off-peak times: opening 9:00, last admission 16:00, visitors leave from 16:30, closing 17:00. Note that the booking site's older instructions show only the 9:00-17:00 hours, with no peak-season extension. The Admission page and the museum's Visit page both give 17:30 for 1 June to 31 October.
The museum is closed on Mondays, except national public holidays. Holiday arrangements are announced one by one, and two earlier notices show how they can differ from the usual rules:
- 2025 National Day notice (23 September 2025): closed Monday 29 September 2025 for routine maintenance, closed Tuesday 30 September 2025 in coordination with activities in the Tian'anmen area, and open as usual from 1 to 8 October 2025.
- 2026 Spring Festival notice (26 January 2026): closed Monday 16 February 2026 (Chinese New Year's Eve), open as usual on 15 February and from 17 to 23 February.
Both periods are over. The museum publishes these notices on its English site shortly before a holiday, so look there for the holiday you plan to visit. The visitor hotline listed in the January 2026 notice is +86 010-6511 6400, 9:00-16:30.
Which entrance to use, and what to bring
On the day, bring the original ID you used to book, and the confirmation message. Enter through the North Gate (北门) visitor entrance during your reserved time slot. Visitors who miss the slot will not be permitted to enter.
These groups may use the Priority Access at the North Gate during their reserved time slot: ages 60 and above, persons with disabilities, active-duty military personnel, veterans, families of martyrs, and fire and rescue personnel. They show the original ID used for the booking, the confirmation message and valid proof of eligibility. The museum's Admission page doesn't say which proof documents a foreign visitor can use for Priority Access.
The museum's Notice to Visitors says:
- Valid ID documents are required to enter during opening hours.
- Everyone goes through a security check. Prohibited items and pets must not be brought in. The notice doesn't list the prohibited items.
- Electric wheelchairs and mobility scooters are not allowed.
- People under the influence of alcohol or improperly dressed are not allowed to enter.
- The museum's Admission page says hand luggage must be deposited after the security check, before you enter. The cost depends on the size of the package. That page doesn't say where the cloakroom is.
For photos: you may take photos in exhibitions showing the museum's own collections, but not with flash, a selfie stick or a tripod. A temporary exhibition may allow or prohibit photos under its own agreement. If photos are banned, signs are put at the entrance of the hall and inside it.
Do special exhibitions cost extra or need a separate booking?
The museum's Admission page and the English booking site's Reservation Instructions don't say whether special exhibitions cost extra or need a separate booking. The Admission page calls the reservation free and does not mention paid special exhibitions. The English booking site has a "Select an exhibition" field, which appears after you pick a date. Neither the museum's Admission page nor the English booking site's Reservation Instructions explains whether any exhibition has a separate fee or a separate booking.
The only paid items the Admission page names are the Paid Commentary Service and the hand-luggage deposit. The commentary service has its own reservation page at pcticket.chnmuseum.cn/commentate-en/general.
If you booked the museum, do you still need a Tiananmen Square reservation?
It depends on which notice you trust, and one of them is old. The Tiananmen Area Management Committee's "Tian'anmen Square Reservation Measures (trial)", dated 19 November 2021, says visitors who have already booked the National Museum of China (and the Palace Museum, Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, Zhongshan Park or the Working People's Cultural Palace) can enter the square with a valid reservation record. They do not need to book the square. The same notice says the reverse does not work: a square booking does not replace the museum's own booking.
That is a 2021 notice. Our Tiananmen Square reservation page notes that the Committee's 2026 notice does not repeat this rule. The safe course is to book the square itself if you have any doubt. The 2021 notice says foreign visitors book the square with an entry passport or a foreigner residence permit. For the Forbidden City, which has its own booking, see how to book Forbidden City tickets.
