Do you need to book Presidential Palace in advance?
Yes — Presidential Palace in Nanjing runs on real-name advance reservation. A foreign passport works as the real-name ID. We have not found an official statement of when tickets release or a booking page we can link, so the practical route is your hotel front desk — and we say so rather than guess.
Verified 2026-08-08 · rules change; confirm on the official channel before you travel
The booking rule, in detail
- Reservation
- Required in advance
- Foreign passport
- A foreign passport works as the real-name ID.
- Official channel
- Not found. We hold the rule but not an official page we can link, and we will not link a reseller in its place.
How a foreign visitor actually books it
Official booking is ONLY through the 'Nanjing Zongtongfu' WeChat mini-program; you enter by scanning the booked ID/passport at the gate. Passport is accepted as valid ID, but completing the online purchase usually needs a Chinese WeChat/phone number. Full price 35 RMB.
What else to know
No third party is authorized to sell tickets or guiding services, online or offline. Open Tue-Sun (closed Mondays except public holidays); peak season Mar 1-Oct 14 08:30-18:00, off-season 08:30-17:00.
If the official channel does not work
The two reliable fallbacks are your hotel front desk, which books these through domestic apps every day, and the on-site manual window where one still exists. What does not work is buying from someone who approaches you or from a marketplace listing: entry is real-name, so a ticket registered to another person’s ID will not admit you. The mechanics are in buying tickets the official way and booking without WeChat.
Other Nanjing sights and their booking rules
- Confucius Temple & Qinhuai River walk in
- Nanjing City Wall walk in
- Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall book ahead
- Nanjing Museum book ahead
- Niushou Mountain Cultural Tourism Area walk in
- Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum book ahead
Full city context, hotels that register foreigners, and what to eat: Nanjing guide. Release times across every city we track are in Reservation Radar.