Prince Kung’s Palace Museum
Located in Beijing’s Xicheng District, Prince Kung’s Palace Museum preserves and showcases Qing Dynasty princely residence culture, offering exhibitions and cultural programs.
Planning your visit
Prince Kung's Palace is the best-preserved princely residence in Beijing, and its first owner is the reason it is so extravagant: Heshen, Qianlong's favourite official, who accumulated a fortune reportedly exceeding the imperial treasury's annual revenue through systematic corruption, and was forced to commit suicide in 1799 when the emperor died. The property passed eventually to Prince Gong, a nineteenth-century statesman.
The complex covers some 60,000 square metres, with residential courtyards at the front and an elaborate garden behind — pavilions, rockeries, a theatre building, and a stone tablet carved with the character fu, meaning fortune, in the Kangxi emperor's hand, hidden in an artificial cave and treated as a place to make wishes.
Opera performances are staged in the theatre.
It sits in the hutong district beside Houhai lake. Allow two hours. The main booking is an e-ticket. Current availability is listed below.
Before you book
Where is Prince Kung’s Palace Museum?
Prince Kung’s Palace Museum is in Beijing, China.
How long should I allow for Prince Kung’s Palace Museum?
Allow two hours. That is the time the collection itself takes at an unhurried pace, before any queue.
Do I need to book Prince Kung’s Palace Museum in advance?
Tickets can be bought on the door at quiet times, but booking ahead fixes the date and avoids the queue at busy ones. Live availability is shown on this page.
