China's Major Attraction Ticket Prices: Costs, Booking Windows & Student (2026)
Complete 2026 ticket prices for China's top attractions. Forbidden City (¥60), Great Wall (¥40-45), Terracotta Warriors (¥120), Zhangjiajie (¥225). Booking windows, student/senior discounts, and scalper warnings.
Table of Contents
TL;DR: Major Chinese attractions cost ¥40-225. Booking is increasingly online-only with advance reservation windows (1-7 days). The Forbidden City sells out — book 7 days ahead. Student and senior discounts exist but require proper ID. Avoid scalpers who resell tickets at 2-3x face value — use official channels only.
Ticket Prices by Attraction (2026)
| Attraction | Price (¥) | Price (USD) | Booking Window | Sells Out? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forbidden City (Beijing) | ¥60 (Apr-Oct: ¥60, Nov-Mar: ¥40) | $8 | 7 days ahead, online only | — every day |
| Great Wall — Badaling | ¥40 | $6 | 7 days ahead recommended | Peak holidays |
| Great Wall — Mutianyu | ¥45 | $6 | 7 days ahead recommended | Less often than Badaling |
| Terracotta Warriors (Xi'an) | ¥120 | $17 | Available at gate + online | Peak holidays |
| Zhangjiajie National Park | ¥225 (4-day pass) | $31 | Online recommended | Peak holidays |
| Yellow Mountain (Huangshan) | ¥190 | $26 | Online recommended | Peak holidays |
| Jiuzhaigou | ¥169 + ¥90 (shuttle bus) = ¥259 | $36 | 3 days ahead, online only, daily cap 30,000 | — frequently |
| Summer Palace (Beijing) | ¥30 (Apr-Oct: ¥30, Nov-Mar: ¥20) | $4 | Available at gate + online | Rarely |
| Temple of Heaven (Beijing) | ¥15 (through ticket ¥34) | $2-5 | Available at gate + online | Rarely |
| Potala Palace (Lhasa) | ¥200 (May-Oct: ¥200, Nov-Apr: ¥100) | $28 | 1 day ahead, online only | — daily cap enforced |
| Leifeng Pagoda (Hangzhou) | ¥40 | $6 | At gate | No |
| Yu Garden (Shanghai) | ¥40 | $6 | At gate | No |
| Lingyin Temple + Feilai Peak | ¥45 + ¥30 = ¥75 | $10 | At gate | Rarely |
| Xi'an City Wall | ¥54 | $8 | At gate + online | Rarely |
| Chengdu Panda Base | ¥58 | $8 | Online recommended | Weekends, holidays |
The Booking Reality in 2026
Most attractions now prefer or require online booking. The days of walking up to the Forbidden City ticket window and buying a ticket are over — it’s online-only, 7 days in advance. Jiuzhaigou has a daily cap of 30,000 visitors (online booking only, verified by passport number). The Potala Palace releases tickets 1 day ahead and they vanish in minutes.
How to book: Trip.com (English interface) handles most major attractions. Official WeChat mini-programs (Chinese but navigable) are the primary booking channel for domestic visitors. For the Forbidden City, use the official “故宫博物院” WeChat mini-program or Trip.com.
Passport number: Online booking requires your passport number. Enter it exactly as it appears. This is also your “ticket” — the passport scan at the gate links to your booking. No paper ticket needed.
Discounts That Actually Work for Foreigners
Student discount: Chinese student ID (学生证) gets 50% off at most attractions. Foreign student ID cards… it depends. Some attractions accept ISIC (International Student Identity Card). Most don’t. A few accept any university ID. There’s no consistent policy. Bring your student ID, try it at the ticket counter, and don’t be surprised if they say no. Worst case: you pay full price.
Senior discount: Generally 60+ years old. Chinese senior ID required at most places. Foreign passport showing age might work at major international attractions — Forbidden City and Summer Palace sometimes honor it. Not reliable.
Children: Kids under 1.2m or under 6 years old are often free. Kids 1.2-1.5m get half-price. This is enforced strictly by height measurement — if your kid is 122cm, they’re paying.
Scalpers: A Real Problem in 2026
Major attractions — especially the Forbidden City, Xuankong Temple (Hanging Temple), and the Potala Palace — have scalper problems. Tickets sell out officially, then appear on Xianyu (闲鱼, a second-hand app) and Xiaohongshu at 2-3x face value.
How it works: Scalpers use bots or teams of people to book tickets the moment they’re released, then resell them. Some are legitimate (they actually transfer the ticket). Some are scams (they take your money and the “ticket” doesn’t work at the gate).
How to avoid: Book early yourself. For the Forbidden City: be online when tickets are released (8pm Beijing time, 7 days before). Have your passport number ready. If you miss out, try Trip.com’s tour packages — they sometimes have reserved ticket allocations. Don’t buy from scalpers on Xianyu unless you’re prepared to lose your money.
CCTV exposed the Xuankong Temple scalping ring in May 2026 — ¥100 face-value tickets resold for ¥200-230, with no guarantee of entry. The lesson: book official, book early.
The Hidden Add-Ons
The base ticket gets you through the gate. These cost extra:
- Forbidden City: Hall of Treasures ¥10, Hall of Clocks ¥10, audio guide ¥40
- Great Wall: cable car ¥100-140 round trip, toboggan ¥100 (Mutianyu)
- Zhangjiajie: Bailong Elevator ¥72, cable cars ¥70-80 each, glass bridge ¥140
- Yellow Mountain: cable cars ¥80-100 each way
- Jiuzhaigou: shuttle bus ¥90 (mandatory — included in the ¥259 total above)
Budget 30-50% on top of base ticket prices for the “full experience” at major attractions. Or accept that you’ll hike up instead of taking the cable car, which is free and often more rewarding anyway.
The Strategy
Book the Forbidden City and Jiuzhaigou the moment tickets release. Book everything else 1-3 days ahead through Trip.com or at the gate. Budget ¥300-500 total per city for attractions (2-3 major sites + incidentals). Carry your passport everywhere — it’s your ticket, your ID, and your discount card (if any discounts work).
Chinese attractions aren’t expensive by international standards. ¥60 ($8) for the Forbidden City — one of the world’s great historical sites — is an extraordinary deal. The challenge isn’t the cost. It’s getting the ticket before they sell out.
