Forbidden City dress code

What actually matters is sun protection and comfort. The palace is almost entirely open stone with almost no shade. In spring and summer, the sun beats down relentlessly. Wear sunscreen, a hat and light clothing. In winter, it is cold; bring layers. Neither of these is a dress code; they are practical measures to make the walk bearable.

If you are planning to visit Tiananmen Square as well, the square has a security checkpoint but no dress requirements either. Military or paramilitary uniforms might raise flags, but casual tourists are fine in any normal clothing.

Why the question comes up at all

Almost everybody who asks me this has been reading about somewhere else. Temples and mosques in Asia often do have covered-shoulders and covered-knees rules, and visitors sensibly assume the rule travels. It does not travel here. The Forbidden City stopped being a sacred or residential site a century ago — the last emperor left in 1924 and it opened as the Palace Museum in 1925 — and it is administered as a museum. Nobody at Wumen is looking at your hemline.

What to wear instead of what not to wear

The useful version of this question is about the surface and the sky, not modesty. The route is about a kilometre, almost all of it on stone or marble, across courtyards built to be empty and impressive rather than comfortable. Shade is scarce by design.

• Shoes above everything. Stone is unforgiving over three hours. Cushioned soles, broken in.
• Summer, roughly June to August. Beijing reaches the mid-thirties Celsius. A hat with a brim, sunscreen, and a litre of water you are carrying in with you.
• Winter, November to March. Genuinely cold and often windy, and the courtyards funnel it. Layers, gloves, something that closes at the neck.
• Spring and autumn. The best months to walk it, and the ones where a light jacket you can tie round your waist covers every eventuality.

One thing that is a rule rather than advice: large bags and tripods slow you down at the security scanner. Not banned, just an avoidable delay when you are trying to get through the Meridian Gate in the morning queue.

Frequently asked questions