IMPERIAL ANCESTRAL TEMPLE (WORKING PEOPLE'S CULTURAL PALACE) · TAIMIAO
☾ ✦
VERIFIED2026.09.11Tiananmen, the Forbidden City & Qianmen · 39.910°N 116.394°E
TicketedClosure day
The Taimiao — the Ming-Qing emperors' ancestral temple, built 1420 to the same 'ancestors left, grain right' rule as Zhongshan Park across the axis, and China's largest surviving imperial ancestral complex. Since 1950 it has been the Working People's Cultural Palace of the city trade union, which is why the signs and the ¥2 ticket carry that name. The 14-hectare cypress grounds are ¥2 and open from 6:30; the three-hall historic compound, with a Front Hall that stands 2 m taller than the Hall of Supreme Harmony and a bell exhibition, is a separate ¥15/¥10 ticket, closed Mondays.
LandmarkEast of Tiananmen Gate, mirror of Zhongshan Park
AddressWorking People's Cultural Palace, East Chang'an Avenue, DongchengVerified · 2019-12Source ↗Navigate ↗
EntranceSouth gate on Chang'an Avenue east of Tiananmen (Line 1 Tiananmen East, Exit A); a west gate faces the Meridian Gate approach
Last verified 2026-09-11
How to book
Tickets at the South, East and West Gate windows — peak season 6:30-19:00, off-season 7:00-17:00; Zhonghua Bell exhibition tickets 9:00-16:00 at the gates, 9:00-16:20 at the old-buildings desk; no advance booking mentioned (Cultural Palace ticket notice, Nov 2024). Tiananmen Square itself must be booked separately, 1-7 days ahead on the '天安门广场预约参观服务平台' (Administration notice, 22 September 2025) — the 2021 rule that a Cultural Palace booking replaced a square booking has not been restated, so book the square if you want to enter itVerified · 2024-11Source ↗
ID details
ID rules: see details. None stated for the park ticket; the 2021 Tiananmen rules accepted a booking here at the square checkpoint in place of a square reservation, but the September 2025 notice does not restate that — book the square separately; ID is checked at the checkpoint
Beat the crowds
Empty on any ordinary day; the only crowds are the April-May peony show in the cypress grounds and wedding photographers around the Front Hall in the golden hour.
Language
Bilingual panels in the hall exhibition; ticket office Chinese. The 'Cultural Palace' branding means English maps sometimes omit the temple altogether.