Explore Beijing / Beijing Park Annual Pass & City Cards: An Honest Comparison
Beijing Park Annual Pass & City Cards: An Honest Comparison
Why the RMB 100 park pass is not for visitors, what the RMB 200 joint card actually covers, the gate prices that decide the maths, and where to buy it.
6 min read · KOULING's Beijing Travel Guide
Beijing's park annual pass looks like the bargain of the century until you read the eligibility line. The RMB 100 pass is restricted to Beijing union members, retirees and full-time students; everyone else — including every overseas visitor — can only buy the RMB 200 joint card. And because most Beijing parks cost between RMB 2 and RMB 30 to enter, a pass is often the expensive way to do a short trip. This guide does the arithmetic honestly and tells you when the card is genuinely worth it.
The eligibility line that decides everything
Read this before you look at any price.
The RMB 100 pass — Restricted to Beijing trade-union members, retirees, and full-time students at bachelor level or below, on production of proof. As a visitor you will not qualify.
The RMB 200 joint card — The Beijing park pass bundled with the Jing-Jin-Ji scenic-area leisure card. No age or household-registration restriction — anyone can buy it, and this is the one a visitor actually buys.
Validity — The 16 core Beijing parks run 1 January 2026 to 31 January 2027. The other Jing-Jin-Ji sites follow the dates printed in the card handbook — check before you travel to one.
Issue fee — A first physical card carries a RMB 6 issue fee paid across two years. Bringing your own Beijing municipal transport card or a third-generation social-security card avoids it.
What you need — A recent one-inch bareheaded photo for a physical card. For the electronic version you register real-name details — have your passport ready, and if the online flow will not accept it, go to a park sales window with the passport original.
What the 16 core parks actually cost at the gate
This is the arithmetic that kills most pass purchases.
Jingshan — RMB 2 — yes, two yuan. The view over the Forbidden City from Wanchun Pavilion is the best RMB 2 in Beijing.
Beihai — RMB 10 in peak season.
Temple of Heaven — RMB 15 for the park, RMB 34 for the through ticket that includes the hall complexes.
Beijing Zoo — RMB 15 in peak season, plus RMB 5 for the panda house.
Summer Palace — RMB 30 in peak season, RMB 20 off-season; the Dehe Garden and the Long Corridor complexes are separate.
Fragrant Hills — RMB 10, and RMB 10 again in the red-leaf season surcharge periods — check the current rule.
The pattern — A classic three-day Beijing itinerary touching Jingshan, Beihai, the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace spends well under RMB 100 on park tickets. A RMB 200 card loses.
When the card genuinely wins
Three cases where it is not close.
You are going to Chengde — The Mountain Resort at Chengde is included in the Jing-Jin-Ji bundle and its peak-season ticket is around RMB 145 on its own. One trip north and the card is most of the way to paid off — see the day-trips guide for the 52-minute train.
You are going to Jinshanling — Jinshanling Great Wall, roughly RMB 65, is in the bundle. Combine it with the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven over a longer stay and the maths turns.
You are staying a month or more — Residents and long-stay visitors who want to walk a different park every weekend get real value, especially from the 134 Jing-Jin-Ji sites including Panshan in Tianjin, Yesanpo-style nature parks, and the Western Qing Tombs.
How and where to buy
Two channels, very different deadlines.
Online, electronic card — The official 畅游公园 WeChat account, the Beijing Yikatong app, individual park accounts and mini-programmes, plus the WeChat / Alipay / Baidu mini-programme routes. Daily 05:00 to 23:00, running to 20 October 2026.
Offline, physical card — Fourteen designated park windows, including the Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Beihai, Zhongshan, Fragrant Hills, Jingshan, the National Botanical Garden north garden, Beijing Zoo, Taoranting, Zizhuyuan, Yuyuantan, Baiwangshan, Shuangxiu and Luxian. The concentrated sales period was extended to 31 January 2026, daily 08:30 to 16:30, weekends included.
After the concentrated period — Year-round standing windows at Jingshan west gate, Taoranting east gate, Yuyuantan east gate and Zhongshan Park west gate.
Hotline — The park-pass service line is 96066, answered around the clock.
For foreign passports — The real-name flows are built around Chinese ID. If the online route stalls, a park window with the passport original and a photo is the fallback, and it is worth trying on your first park day rather than your last.
What the pass does not do
Setting expectations saves disappointment at the gate.
It is not a museum pass — The Forbidden City, the National Museum and the city museums are not in it. Museum entry is free or cheap but almost always requires advance booking — see the museums guide.
It does not skip the queue — You still queue, and you still pass security. Popular parks on a national holiday are unpleasant with or without a card.
It does not cover inner attractions — Separately ticketed halls, the panda house, boat hire and cable cars are paid on top.
It is not transferable — Cards are issued against identity. Do not plan to share one.
It does not beat a short trip — For three to five days in central Beijing, buy single tickets. The money is small and the flexibility is worth more.
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