Tiananmen Square
The 44-hectare square between the Tiananmen gate tower and Zhengyangmen — flag-raising at dawn, the Monument to the People's Heroes, the Mausoleum, the Great Hall of the People on the west and the National Museum on the east. It is free, but since December 2021 you cannot simply walk in: every visitor, Chinese or foreign, books a session (flag-raising, morning, afternoon, flag-lowering) on the Tiananmen Area Administration's platform, and the official rules name the passport as the foreigner's document. The 2021 rules let a booking for the Palace Museum, National Museum, Mausoleum, Zhongshan Park or the Working People's Cultural Palace stand in for a square booking; no 2025-26 notice repeats this, so book the square itself if you want to stand on it.
'天安门广场预约参观' WeChat mini-program, the 京通 mini-programs, or the square-booking section of the Administration's portal (tamgw.beijing.gov.cn) — individuals and groups book 1-7 days ahead (Administration notice, Sept 2025). A 2022 FAQ said a same-day booking for the Palace Museum, National Museum, Mausoleum, Zhongshan Park or the Cultural Palace was accepted at the checkpoint instead; no 2025-26 notice repeats this, and the Palace Museum now routes palace-only visitors around the square — book the square itself if you want to stand on itVerified · 2025-09Source ↗
Passport required; see details for entry handling. Real-name: foreign visitors book with the passport they entered China on or a residence permit (2021 official rules: 国外游客凭入境护照或外国人居留证)
Flag-raising draws thousands before dawn every day and tens of thousands on 1 October; the afternoon session is the emptiest.
Booking platform language not confirmed. Checkpoint staff work from the booking record on your passport; signage at the checkpoints is bilingual.
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