Prince Gong's Mansion, Beijing

Prince Gong's Mansion tickets: price and how to book as a foreigner

A full ticket is ¥40 all year. Children aged 6 and under, or 1.2 m and shorter, go free. Ages 6 to 18 pay half price, and the museum says explicitly that this includes foreign teenagers with a passport or student card. Over-60s also get half price with ID, though the rules don't say whether that applies to a foreign passport.

Tickets are online only, on the official museum website or its WeChat account. Sales for each date open at 20:00 Beijing time ten days ahead. Tickets are in your name: choose 'passport' as the document type and enter your name and number exactly as printed. One passport gets one ticket per day, and an order can hold up to five.

The booking system is mostly in Chinese, and guides say it takes WeChat Pay or Alipay. Both accept many foreign Visa and Mastercard cards once linked to your passport, so set them up before you fly. Resellers handle the process in English for a markup; the ticket is still issued to your passport.

Refunds are possible until 22:00 on the visit day, but cancelling after 16:00 counts as a no-show, and three no-shows in 60 days block you from booking for 60 days. If your date is sold out, check again on the day — returned tickets sometimes go back on sale.

Opening hours and the best time to go

The museum opens Tuesday to Sunday, 8:30–17:00. Ticket sales stop at 16:00 and the last entry is 16:10. It's closed on Mondays except public holidays, and publishes special timetables for holiday weeks. The official site lists a single timetable for the whole year — no separate winter hours.

Come at opening time. The first hour is the quietest in the courtyards, and the narrow garden paths are still calm enough to stop at the Fu stele. Tour groups build up towards midday. Late entry works too, but you need at least 90 minutes and the gate shuts at 16:10.

In winter the garden is bare, but snow on the green tiles and red columns is a sight in itself. In spring the courtyard trees blossom. For weekends and holiday weeks, book as soon as sales open.

What is Prince Gong's Mansion?

Gongwangfu (恭王府), 'the residence of Prince Gong', is an aristocratic Manchu compound in Xicheng District, by the Shichahai lakes just south of Houhai. At around six hectares of courtyards, halls and garden, it's one of the largest and best-preserved princely residences in Beijing. Today it's the Prince Kung's Palace Museum, a state museum with China's top 5A tourist grade.

It was built in the second half of the 18th century, under the Qianlong Emperor, for his all-powerful favourite Heshen. After Heshen's fall in 1799 the property was confiscated and passed to Prince Qing, one of Qianlong's sons. In 1850 Emperor Xianfeng gave it to his brother, Prince Gong (Yixin), and the name stuck.

In the 20th century the compound housed Fu Jen Catholic University and later offices and flats. It became a nationally protected site in 1982, residents moved out by the early 2000s, and after restoration the whole property — residence and garden — opened to visitors in 2008.

What to see at Prince Gong's Mansion

• The three courtyard axes. The residence is laid out along central, eastern and western lines of courtyards. The central axis holds the formal reception halls, and halls across the residence host permanent and temporary exhibitions on princely life.
• The long rear building — a two-storey block running the full width of the compound, dividing the residence from the garden. It has exhibitions too, and its gallery is the easy way to cross between axes.
• The Western Gate (西洋门) — a white, European-style arch at the garden entrance. Unusual in a Chinese mansion and the most photographed spot here.
• The garden — about three hectares of Taihu-rock hills, ponds, pavilions and covered walkways. Beijing's tourism portal and English Wikipedia count around 20 scenic spots.
• The Fu stele (福字碑) — the character for 'fortune' after Kangxi Emperor's calligraphy, with his seal. It sits in the Miyun grotto beneath Dicui Rock in the centre of the garden. The stele itself is small, 129 by 54 cm, but there's nearly always a queue.
• The Grand Opera House (大戏楼) — a fully enclosed wooden hall of 722 m² under three linked roofs, with a stage raised a metre and wisteria painted across walls and ceiling. One of very few enclosed Qing-era theatres left.
• Bats everywhere — in Chinese 'bat' (蝠) sounds like 'fortune' (福), so the motif turns up all over the garden: in paintings, in the shape of the pond and in the name of the Bat Hall (蝠厅).

How long do you need, and is it worth it?

The highlights — the central axis, the rear building, the Western Gate, the Fu stele and the opera house — take about 90 minutes. The museum itself suggests one-hour, two-hour and half-day routes. Allow 2–3 hours if you want to read the exhibitions in the side courtyards.

Is it worth it? Yes, if you're curious how the nobility lived rather than the emperor. It's far more intimate than the Forbidden City, the courtyards are on a human scale, and the garden is classic Beijing. It also pairs naturally with the lakes and hutongs, all within a 5–15 minute walk.

The downsides: it's hugely popular with domestic tourists, the garden paths get crowded, especially at the stele, and labels are mostly in Chinese with some English. If you only have one day in Beijing and haven't seen the Forbidden City, go there first and save this for day two.

Prince Gong's Mansion vs the Forbidden City and Summer Palace

The mansion complements the Forbidden City rather than replacing it: one is the ceremonial heart of the empire, the other a noble family's home. The Summer Palace needs its own half day in the northwest of the city.

Beijing's palaces compared

Palaces and residences in Beijing rated by YesGo. Tap a column heading to sort.

Nearby and on your route

38

Houhai Lake and Shichahai

Beijing, China

1 h 30 min · Free · 9 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Houhai Lake and Shichahai

42

Beijing hutongs

Beijing, China

1 h 30 min · Free; rickshaw about ¥100–200 · 13 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Beijing hutongs

34

Drum and Bell Towers

Beijing, China

1 h · ¥30 for both towers · 16 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Drum and Bell Towers

33

Beihai Park

Beijing, China

2 h · ¥5–10, ¥15–20 with the island · 24 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Beihai Park

How to do it right

• For a weekend or holiday visit, set an alarm for 20:00 Beijing time ten days before.
• Start on the central axis and work north to the garden, so the exhibitions come on the way rather than at the end when you're tired.
• The English audio guide costs ¥30 for two hours and fills in what the Chinese-only labels leave out.
• The queue at the Fu stele is shortest in the first hour after opening.
• Smoking, including e-cigarettes, is banned throughout, and climbing the garden rockeries isn't allowed.
• Afterwards, walk to Houhai Lake and the hutongs — the water is a few minutes away.
• Wheelchairs, pushchairs and left luggage are available at the service centre by Gate 1.

Questions