How to Book Attractions in China Ahead of Time

China’s headline attractions are real-name, timed-entry sites — and for the most famous ones, advance booking is not optional.

For the Forbidden City, the Terracotta Army and the Shanghai Tower observation deck, showing up without a reservation usually means being turned away. The good news: booking is straightforward once you understand the system. Here’s how to book attractions in China before you arrive.

The short answer

1. Most major sights now use real-name registration — your passport, not a paper ticket.
2. Book the Forbidden City, Terracotta Army and Shanghai Tower days ahead, online.
3. WeChat mini programs are the usual booking channel; payment goes through Alipay or WeChat Pay.
4. If you can’t face WeChat, set up Alipay and book through a platform or your hotel instead.

Which attractions actually sell out

• Forbidden City (Palace Museum), Beijing — the most-booked site in the country. Reserved tickets are released around a week ahead and can disappear fast in peak season, so book the moment your dates are fixed.
• Terracotta Army (Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum), Xi’an — timed-entry tickets on the official booking channels; the most convenient morning slots go first.
• Shanghai Tower observation deck — timed entry, and sunset slots fill up well in advance.
• National Museum of China, Beijing — free, but requires a timed reservation through the official channel.
• Other big draws — sections of the Great Wall, top museums in Shanghai and Beijing, and major sights in cities like Chengdu and Xi’an increasingly run the same real-name, timed-entry system.

The real-name + passport rule

Since real-name ticketing was rolled out across major attractions, the person whose passport is entered in the booking must present that same passport at the gate.

• Book using the exact name and passport number on your document — no nicknames or shortened forms.
• Bring the physical passport. Copies and screenshots are usually rejected.
• Type your passport number carefully; a single typo can mean a refused entry.
• Most sites do not allow renaming tickets after purchase, so double-check everything before paying.

How to book

Most official channels run through a WeChat mini program or an official website:

• Open the attraction’s official mini program in WeChat.
• Choose your date and time slot.
• Enter visitor details — name and passport number.
• Pay — Alipay and WeChat Pay are standard; foreign cards are accepted at some sites.
• You’ll receive a confirmation code or QR code; present it together with your passport at the entrance.

If the mini program is Chinese-only, your phone’s built-in translation tool can usually handle the booking screen — take it slowly and check the date format (China uses year-month-day).

If you can’t book online

• Your hotel is your best ally. Front desks at well-run hotels regularly book tickets for guests and are comfortable handling foreign passports.
• Third-party platforms such as Trip.com — the international version of Ctrip — sell attraction tickets to foreigners and accept international cards; the price is often slightly higher than the official rate.
• Walk-up — for most reserved sites there is little or no same-day availability, so don’t count on it. Smaller attractions, parks and temples still take walk-in visitors.
• Foreigner-friendly policies are improving: several major sites now publish English booking guidance and accept international payment at checkout, so don’t assume the system is inaccessible just because the default language is Chinese. When in doubt, the hotel desk is the fastest way to find out.

Practical timing tips

• Book as soon as your dates are confirmed. The tightest windows are summer, the week of National Day (around October 1) and Spring Festival.
• Choose the earliest time slots — cooler, less crowded, better light for photos.
• Plan around your hotel’s check-in time and how long the metro or ride will take.
• Have backup attractions in mind. If the Forbidden City is full, the Temple of Heaven or the Summer Palace may still have space, and they’re no less memorable.
• Book in batches for groups: some sites cap how many tickets a single booking can hold. If you’re traveling as a family or group, split the order into two or three separate bookings of two — you’ll avoid the error that blocks the whole order when one name doesn’t match.
• On busy days, factor in the security check at the entrance — allow extra time even with a valid booking.

Before you go

• Make a list of every must-see attraction and note which ones need reservations.
• Set up Alipay — and ideally WeChat Pay — for the payment step.
• Keep your passport in your day bag; it is your ticket almost everywhere.

Last updated: August 2026. Booking windows, channels and rules change frequently — confirm before you go.