Prince Kung's Mansion (恭王府)
Museum · Beijing. A Qing princely mansion and garden with a passport ticket exchange.
Also called: Prince Gong Mansion.
Source: https://chinafootnotes.com/places/prince-kungs-mansion · Data checked 2026-10-06 · Rendered for 2026-10-08 (Asia/Shanghai). Facts carry their status; "not found yet" means we searched and found no reliable source.
Why go
Prince Kung's Mansion (恭王府) is an accessible Qing-era residence with halls, courtyards and a rear garden. Unlike the surrounding Shichahai hutongs, entering the mansion needs a dated, real-name ticket. The official site gives a clear passport workflow, so you can see domestic architecture without an uncertain third-party process.
What to do
- Walk the residence. Follow the visitor route through the mansion buildings before reaching the garden. Courtyards, gates and room arrangement show the scale of a princely residence rather than a single palace hall.
- Enter the rear garden. Leave time for the garden after the halls. The museum defines both the residence and garden as part of the preserved mansion site.
- Use the visitor center. Inside Gate 1, the visitor center offers information, luggage storage, wheelchair and stroller loans, charging and hot water. Stop there before following the route.
- Don't miss: Passport-ticket holders exchange the online order at the 综合服务处 before entry.
- Best time: Near 08:30 before larger groups arrive
Practical details
- Hours: 08:30–17:00 · closed Mon
- Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun: 08:30–17:00, last entry 16:10
- Usually closed: Mon
- Admission: Ticketed · ¥40
- Adult: ¥40
- Concession: Ages over 6 to 18 and full-time undergraduates, including eligible overseas youth ¥20 (Valid identity or student document)
- Concession: Visitors aged 60 and over ¥20 (Resident identity card (the official page does not say whether foreign passport holders qualify))
- Free: Children aged 6 or under or 1.2 m or shorter (Valid age or height evidence)
- Booking: Online real-name ticket · 10 days ahead at 20:00
- Prince Kung’s Mansion official ticket mall (恭王府博物馆在线购票) — https://mall.pgm.org.cn/ · passport: yes
- Passport accepted: yes — Choose passport ID type online, then exchange the order for an admission credential at 综合服务处.
- Each identity document is limited to one ticket per date; the official site says ticket return may briefly restore availability.
- Last admission: Last ticket check 16:10
- Time to allow: 2–3 hr
- Getting there: Line 6 · Beihai North Exit B
- Metro Line 6 to Beihai North (北海北), Exit B (northeast), about 4 min walk
- Show a taxi driver: 西城区前海西街17号 恭王府博物馆一号门
- Foreign visitors: Passport ticket supported; exchange on site
Not found yet
- foreignVisitors.foreignPhone: The ticket website login asks for a phone number but does not state overseas-number support. (searched: official ticket mall, official purchase guide, Xiaohongshu)
- foreignVisitors.payment.foreignCard: Official ticketing guidance does not list accepted foreign bank cards. (searched: official purchase guide, government inbound guide, Xiaohongshu)
Traveler tips
- Buy on the official ticket site. The museum sells tickets only online, by real name, and opens each date ten days ahead at 20:00. Use its official ticket mall (mall.pgm.org.cn) and pick the actual visit date. An unused ticket can be refunded until 22:00 on the visit day, and three no-shows within 60 days lock your account from booking for a while. Caveat: A 2023 magazine piece mentioned walk-up window sales; the current official rules list online purchase as the only channel. Two Sept 2026 summary posts (路边社, 爱爬山的小妮妮) repeat the official ten-day, 20:00 and ¥40 rules; they are not independent first-hand accounts. A 2025-06 post (缓流宇宙Lab) gave seven days, and an older 2023 list gave a free ticket, both of which do not match the official rule. (2 travelers) source
- Choose passport in the ID menu. The official ticket rules list passports as an accepted booking document. Select that document type, enter the holder's own details and keep the same physical passport for the visit. Each document may buy one ticket per day. source
- Exchange the passport order. On arrival, take the booked passport to the 综合服务处 (comprehensive service desk) inside the main gate and swap the online order for a paper admission credential. Then go to ticket checking; this differs from Chinese-ID holders, who scan their card directly. Caveat: 爱爬山的小妮妮 (Sept 2026) repeats the official rule that passport or Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan document holders go to the service desk to exchange for a credential before ticket check; no visitor describes the desk's position or queue. source
- Arrive early on a weekday. The museum opens at 08:30, ticket sales stop at 16:00 and ticket checking at 16:10, with closing at 17:00. A weekday opening-time arrival or a late-afternoon entry avoids the heaviest crowds, and a late arrival leaves too little time for both the residence and the rear garden. Caveat: 美小崔 (May 2026) writes the same hours (08:30–17:00, last check 16:10, closed Monday except holidays). A June 2025 post (所谓伊人) arrived at 16:00 and entered at the last moment; no post gives how long the mansion takes to see in full. source
- Rent the English audio guide. Most exhibition labels are in Chinese, so an audio guide helps. Rent a device for ¥30 per 2 hours at the desks on both sides of the first palace gate (头宫门) or from the self-service lockers at the second gate (二宫门). It covers about 50 spots in English, French, Spanish or Japanese plus Chinese, plays automatically near each spot, and a lost device costs ¥500. Caveat: Rental terms come from an official page dated 2018; confirm the price at the desk. 美小崔 (May 2026) says you should hear a guide because the halls are otherwise dull; 缓流宇宙Lab (Jun 2025) advised against rental devices because of noise; a masked commenter (Jun 2025) says volunteers also lead free public tours at some times. source
- Use the Gate 1 visitor center. The visitor center is inside Gate 1, on the east side. It offers information, luggage storage, phone charging, hot water and wheelchair or stroller loans. Handle bags there before following the main route. Caveat: 缓流宇宙Lab (Jun 2025) wrote that the free storage queue is long, while a masked commenter on that post says the service center store needs no queue. source
- Plan for steps and stones. The official guide says the grounds contain many rocks and steps. Wear shoes suited to uneven ground and ask the visitor center about a wheelchair; some garden paths may still be awkward. source
- See the garden after the halls. The protected site includes the mansion residence and the rear garden. Allow time for both parts rather than leaving after the first courtyards. (3 travelers) source
- Take Line 6 to Beihai North, Exit B. Ride Metro Line 6 to Beihai North station (北海北站) and leave by Exit B, the northeast exit. Walk 200 m along Sanzuoqiao Hutong (三座桥胡同) or 300 m along Longtoujing Street (龙头井街) to Gate 1. Parking nearby is limited and the museum advises public transport. Caveat: 美小崔 (May 2026) puts the walk from Exit B at 5–10 minutes along Sanzuoqiao Hutong or Longtoujing Street; official walking time in this file is editorial. source
- Check student proof at purchase. The published half-fare category includes eligible overseas young visitors. Choose the proper ticket and bring the passport plus the student or age proof the rule asks for. Caveat: The exact acceptance of a particular foreign student card was not tested. source
- Cross the Western Gate: it opens the garden. Walk the halls in order: Yin'an Hall (银安殿), Duofu Xuan (多福轩), Ledao Hall (乐道堂), Jiale Hall (嘉乐堂), Baoguang Studio (葆光室), Xijin Zhai (锡晋斋) and the Rear Tower (后罩楼). The white-marble Western-style Gate (西洋门) after the tower is the way into the back garden, so do not leave at the tower. In the garden follow Dule Peak, the Bat Pond (蝠池), the Fu stele cave, the hillside path to the Yaoyue Terrace and the Grand Opera House (大戏楼) before the exit. Caveat: The full order is from Mangoo. (walked on 2025-12-13); 美小崔 (May 2026) and Sylvia7 (Jul 2026) both say entering the Western Gate means entering the back garden, and both list the same guide-given sights, so they may share one source. A masked commenter on Mangoo.'s post (Jan 2026) found no door beyond the Rear Tower and left; a commenter (Jan 2026) says the Western gate dates to the Prince Gong period, not Heshen. (3 travelers) source
- Guided tours cost about ¥40–50 per person. Small-group guide tours cost about ¥40 to ¥50 per person and give the story behind the halls. Most of it is about Heshen (和珅), the original owner, and the later Prince Gong (恭亲王). If you do not want a guide, rent the audio guide at the gate instead. Caveat: Sylvia7 (Jul 2026) paid ¥40 for a human guide and 美小崔 (May 2026) ¥50 for a group tour; a masked commenter on another post (Jun 2026) writes ¥40 and that the group splits up after the talk. 素素 (May 2026) found the guides tell Heshen's treasure stories rather than history. Neither price is a posted tariff and the language of the tours was not stated. (2 travelers) source
- Pingbu Qingyun path: step over the first step and descend another way. The Pingbu Qingyun path (平步青云路) climbs from the Fu stele cave to the highest point of the garden. Visitors do not step on the first stair, look up at the character for joy halfway, pause at the top and go down by a different path rather than retrace their steps. Caveat: Both posts (Sylvia7 Jul 2026, 美小崔 May 2026) give this as the guide's advice, in near identical wording, so it counts as one source. It is a folk custom, not a rule of the museum. (2 travelers) source
- One recent visitor found the halls rebuilt, with few old features. A June 2026 visitor (聆听～Nia) found the halls restored without any old character, and a masked commenter listed closed doors without explanation. The garden, the opera house and the Fu stele are the visitor-reported highlights. A guide or a route helps, and the garden needs its own time. Caveat: Only 聆听～Nia (Jun 2026) is within 12 months and says this; 美小崔 (May 2026) writes the opposite for one room: the entrance ceiling and floor of the Baoguang Studio are original from the Heshen period. 。云清 (Jun 2025) and 墨染 (Mar 2025) are older than 12 months. 素素 (May 2026) calls the architecture grand and the gift shop good. These are opinions of a few visitors. (3 travelers) source
- Spare tickets sometimes appear between 08:00 and 09:00. If the ten-day release is sold out, check the booking page on the day between about 08:00 and 09:00, when the museum sometimes releases a batch of returned or extra tickets. Keep refreshing at intervals. Caveat: One Feb 2026 post (盐面儿) says about 1,000 tickets appear at irregular times in that window; no other post confirms it and the museum's own page only says returned tickets may reappear. source
Sources
- 文化和旅游部恭王府博物馆 (published 2023-07-24)
- 文化和旅游部恭王府博物馆 (published 2018-08-16)
- 文化和旅游部恭王府博物馆 (published 2026-09-15)
- 文化和旅游部恭王府博物馆
- 文化和旅游部恭王府博物馆 (published 2018-08-08)
- 文化和旅游部恭王府博物馆 (published 2018-08-08)
- The Beijinger (published 2023-05-14)
- Sylvia7 (published 2026-07-11)
- 美小崔 (published 2026-05-02)
- Mangoo. (published 2025-12-14)
- 聆听～Nia (published 2026-06-11)
- 素素 (published 2026-05-28)
- 盐面儿 (published 2026-02-22)
- 爱爬山的小妮妮 (published 2026-09-18)
- 路边社 (published 2026-09-24)
- 缓流宇宙Lab (published 2025-06-22)
- 墨染 (published 2025-03-15)
- 。云清☁ (published 2025-06-01)
- 所谓伊人 (published 2025-08-01)
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- Book ahead: what to reserve before you go