Temples, Monasteries and Mosques in China: Tickets, Booking and Etiquette

Most famous temples in China are open to visitors of any faith, and the rules are similar from place to place: you book a real-name ticket with your passport, you burn only the incense the temple gives you, and you put the camera away inside the halls. The details differ by temple. The Lama Temple in Beijing costs 25 yuan and is booked on its WeChat account with a passport. Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou has been free since 1 December 2025, but you still need a real-name booking. Both temples hand out free incense and ask you not to bring your own. The Jokhang and the Potala Palace in Lhasa have written dress rules: no shorts or short skirts, no low-cut or backless tops, and no open-toe slippers. Below: the ticket and booking table, one short entry per temple, Daoist mountains and mosques, and the manners that matter.

Tickets, booking, incense and photos: the short answer

Here is what to expect at the big temples, with the temple named each time, because the rules are set by each temple, not by one national rule.

• Tickets are cheap or free. The Lama Temple charges 25 yuan, the Shaolin scenic area 80 yuan, and Lingyin Temple nothing at all since its former 45-yuan ticket and 30-yuan incense coupon were dropped. The expensive part of a temple trip is usually the mountain around it, such as Mount Emei, where the entry ticket does not include the temples, cable cars or buses.
• Most need a real-name booking. You enter your passport number when you book and show the same passport at the gate. The Lama Temple and Lingyin Temple both accept passports by name in their booking rules. The Jokhang in Lhasa needs a booking one day ahead.
• Free incense, no outside incense. The Lama Temple gives free incense at Zhaotai Gate and asks you not to bring your own. The eight Buddhist temples around West Lake in Hangzhou, Lingyin included, give each visitor three sticks free and refuse incense brought in from outside.
• No photos inside the halls. The Lama Temple bans photos and video inside its halls, and the Jokhang bans them in its main hall. Courtyards, roofs and gates are usually fine to photograph.

How to read the table: the booking matters more than the price. Book the Lama Temple in its WeChat official account. Book Lingyin in its mini-program (a small app that runs inside WeChat or Alipay) at least one day ahead, because same-day booking is not possible. Book Wutai Shan before you set off, because its daily quota can run out. Leshan is the easiest of the group to visit on short notice, because tickets are also sold at the ticket halls on site.

Discounts for seniors and students are a different matter. There is no national rule that foreign visitors get the same concessions as Chinese citizens, and each site sets its own rules, often limiting them to Chinese ID holders. Some temples do extend them to passport holders. At the Lama Temple, visitors aged 6–18, students and people aged 60 and over qualify for the 12-yuan half-price ticket: book in the WeChat account, then take the booking number and your passport to the ticket processing centre on site, because the online QR-code route sells full-price tickets only. Elsewhere, carry your passport and ask at the ticket window, but budget for full price.

The major Buddhist temples

Most temples you will visit in China are Chinese Buddhist (佛教, Fójiào), with a front gate, a hall of guardian kings, and a main hall for the Buddha. The temples below are the ones most travellers combine with a city trip. Each entry gives what it is, the one booking fact you need, and how long to allow.

Lama Temple (Yonghe Gong), Beijing

The Lama Temple (雍和宫, Yōnghé Gōng) is a working Tibetan Buddhist monastery in central Beijing, with a row of halls that get taller as you walk north, ending in the hall with a giant standing Buddha. For most itineraries it is the most convenient place to see Tibetan Buddhist practice without a Tibet permit. The ticket is 25 yuan, half price for some groups. The temple's visitor rules ask you to book in its WeChat official account "雍和宫" with your passport and enter by QR code; each passport can buy one ticket per day. It is open 09:00–17:00 from April to October (last entry 16:30) and 09:00–16:30 from November to March (last entry 16:00), with no fixed closing day. Allow about 90 minutes. Pick up your free incense at Zhaotai Gate on the way in. Our Beijing guide shows how it fits into a day with the Confucius Temple and the hutongs nearby.

Lingyin Temple and Feilai Feng, Hangzhou

Lingyin Temple (灵隐寺, Língyǐn Sì) sits in wooded hills west of West Lake. The path in passes Feilai Feng (飞来峰, "the Peak That Flew Here"), a limestone hill with Buddhist figures carved into its caves and cliffs. Since 1 December 2025 the whole Lingyin–Feilai Feng area, which also includes Yongfu and Taoguang temples, is free, and the old two-ticket system is gone. Entry now works by real-name booking in the "杭州灵隐飞来峰" mini-program on Alipay or WeChat: book at least one day ahead and up to seven days ahead, choose a morning or afternoon slot, and use your passport if you have no Chinese ID. It is open 07:30–17:30, with last entry at 17:00. Allow half a day if you want to climb up to Taoguang Temple as well. See our Hangzhou guide for combining it with West Lake.

Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi'an

The Big Wild Goose Pagoda (大雁塔, Dàyàn Tǎ) is a square, stepped brick pagoda inside Da Ci'en Temple in southern Xi'an, linked to the monk Xuanzang, who brought Buddhist scriptures back from India in the Tang dynasty. The temple uses real-name advance booking with a daily cap, and climbing the pagoda is a separate ticket; book before you go and check current prices at the gate. The open square on the north side and the Datang Everbright City walking street to the south are free to walk, and most visitors come back in the evening when the area is lit up. Allow one to two hours for the temple. Our Xi'an guide covers the pagoda together with the Shaanxi History Museum a short walk away.

Shaolin Temple, Dengfeng (Henan)

Shaolin Temple (少林寺, Shàolín Sì) is the founding temple of Chan (Zen) Buddhism and the home of Shaolin kung fu. It is in Dengfeng, a city under Zhengzhou, not Luoyang: the scenic area gives the drive as about 85.8 km and 1 hour 23 minutes from central Zhengzhou, and about 55.2 km and 1 hour 18 minutes from central Luoyang. One 80-yuan ticket covers the temple, the Pagoda Forest (a field of brick and stone grave pagodas for past abbots), the martial arts show and several smaller sites. The kung fu show runs several times each morning and afternoon in the performance hall, with the day's schedule posted on site. Check opening hours with the scenic area before you go. Allow most of a day including travel. If you would rather not arrange the drive yourself, a Shaolin day trip from Zhengzhou or Luoyang on GetYourGuide handles transport. Our kung fu guide covers the shows and longer training, and our Luoyang guide covers pairing Shaolin with the Longmen Grottoes.

Leshan Giant Buddha and Mount Emei, Sichuan

The Leshan Giant Buddha (乐山大佛, Lèshān Dàfó) is a seated Buddha cut into a red sandstone cliff where three rivers meet. The daytime ticket is 80 yuan and includes the walk down to the Buddha's feet. The Nine-Turn Plank Road on one side is closed for maintenance, so you go down to the feet by the Lingyun Plank Road instead. Hours are 07:30–18:30 from 1 April to 7 October and 08:00–17:30 from 8 October to 31 March. Tickets are sold in the "大佛旅游" mini-program on WeChat or Alipay and at the ticket halls on site. If the stairway queue is long, the 70-yuan sightseeing boat shows you the whole figure from the river. Allow three to four hours.

Mount Emei (峨眉山, Éméi Shān) is one of China's four sacred Buddhist mountains, with temples along the trails and the Golden Summit at the top. The mountain ticket is 160 yuan in the main season and 110 yuan in the low season (15 December to 15 January), and it does not cover the temples, cable cars or buses. The bus up to Leidongping, below the summit, is sold by real-name time slot up to 15 days ahead, and a passport is accepted. Building work around the summit is planned to last into 2027, and from 23 May 2026 summit-area tickets are capped at 8,000 a day, so book the bus early on holidays. Do not feed or touch the monkeys: the mountain bans it, and in 2026 banned a visitor for three years for shoving a monkey. Leshan is a full day from Chengdu; Leshan plus Emei is better as two days. A guided Leshan day tour from Chengdu on Klook saves you the bus and ticket logistics if you are short on time. Our Chengdu day trips guide has the trains and timings for both.

Wutai Shan (Mount Wutai), Shanxi

Wutai Shan (五台山, Wǔtái Shān) is a cluster of five flat-topped peaks with dozens of temples in the valley town of Taihuai at its centre. UNESCO lists it as a World Heritage site and describes it as a world centre of worship of the bodhisattva Manjushri. The entry ticket is 135 yuan full price and 70 yuan half price according to the 2022 notice, and an older reply from the management gave a lower winter price, so check the price when you book. Booking is real-name and time-slotted through the "五台山游客服务中心" official platform up to five days ahead, with a cap of 40,000 visitors a day. If the platform will not take your passport, the scenic area's visitor centre has ticket machines and a help desk, or ask your hotel to book for you. Inside the mountain, Xiantong Temple, Tayuan Temple, Pusading and Dailuoding charge their own small tickets, while Nanshan Temple and most others are free. From 1 November 2026 to 15 May 2027 the five peak tops are closed to hiking and camping because of extreme cold and wind; the temples in Taihuai are not part of that closure. There is no high-speed station at the mountain, and the usual way in is the scenic-area shuttle bus from Taiyuan, Xinzhou or Datong. Allow two days. Our Shanxi route places it between Datong and Pingyao.

Tibetan Buddhist sites: the Jokhang, the Potala and Lhasa

Tibetan Buddhism (藏传佛教, Zàngchuán Fójiào) looks and feels different from the temples above: prayer wheels, butter lamps, whitewashed walls and pilgrims walking circuits around the holy buildings. All of the sites in this section are in Lhasa, and foreign visitors need a Tibet permit arranged in advance; see our Tibet permit guide. If Tibet does not fit your trip, the Lama Temple in Beijing (above) is the nearest working Tibetan Buddhist monastery to most itineraries.

Jokhang Temple (大昭寺, Dàzhāo Sì) is the most sacred temple in Tibet, with pilgrims prostrating on the paving stones in front of it. Book one day ahead in the "大昭寺" mini-program or official account, then pay and collect your ticket on the day. Morning entry, 8:30–13:30, follows your booked time slot. A 2015 regional price list gives 85 yuan; confirm the current price when you book. Tibet's winter free-entry scheme for scenic areas, running from 15 October 2026 to 15 March 2027, does not cover temples, so the Jokhang still charges. Dress rules here are official: no shorts or short skirts, no low-cut or backless tops, no open-toe slippers, take off your hat, and do not take photos in the main hall.

The Barkhor is the circuit of streets around the Jokhang. Pilgrims walk it clockwise, and visitors are asked to do the same.

Potala Palace (布达拉宫, Bùdálā Gōng) sells no same-day tickets: every visitor books in advance with real-name and face verification. During the winter scheme from 15 October 2026 to 15 March 2027 entry is free, but you still need that booking, and the palace is closed on Mondays except public holidays. Our Potala Palace guide covers the booking steps, the route and how early to arrive. Other big Lhasa monasteries are simpler: Sera, Drepung and Ramoche sell tickets on the spot with no booking. For how many days to spend in Lhasa and how to handle the altitude, see our Lhasa and Tibet guide.

Outside Tibet, the large Tibetan monasteries of Labrang in Gansu, Ta'er (Kumbum) near Xining and Songzanlin in Shangri-La are also open to visitors; check their current tickets and opening hours locally before you go.

Daoist mountains and mosques

Mount Qingcheng, near Chengdu

Mount Qingcheng (青城山, Qīngchéng Shān) is one of the birthplaces of Daoism (道教, Dàojiào), China's native religion. The front mountain has the Daoist temples along stone paths through the forest; the back mountain is mostly streams and scenery, and the two are ticketed separately. It pairs well with the Dujiangyan irrigation system in one day from Chengdu. Check current tickets, hours and any booking requirement on the scenic area's official WeChat account "青城山都江堰" before you go. Our Chengdu day trips guide covers the train from Chengdu.

Great Mosque of Xi'an (Huajue Lane)

The Great Mosque on Huajue Lane (化觉巷清真大寺, Huàjué Xiàng Qīngzhēn Dàsì) looks like a Chinese temple at first sight, with courtyards, wooden gateways and a pagoda-shaped minaret, and Arabic writing on the boards and walls. It is the best known of about ten mosques in Xi'an's Muslim Quarter, just north of the Drum Tower. Non-Muslim visitors can walk the courtyards, but the green-tiled Prayer Hall at the back is not open to visitors. The Shaanxi provincial government's English site lists the ticket as 25 yuan from March to November and 15 yuan from December to February, free for Muslims, with hours of 08:00–19:00; those figures are several years old, so confirm on site. Allow under an hour, then walk the food streets of the Muslim Quarter; our halal food guide explains what the halal signs mean.

In Beijing, the Niujie Mosque is the city's oldest and largest; the Beijing tourism site lists a ticket of about 10 yuan for foreign visitors and daytime opening, so confirm the hours on the day.

Two other famous names, Wudang Shan in Hubei (a Daoist mountain linked with tai chi) and the Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar, are open to visitors too; check their tickets and access rules locally.

Temple etiquette: what to wear, where to point the camera, and how to walk

You do not need to be religious to visit, and nobody expects you to know every custom. Some of the rules below are posted by the temples themselves; others are custom, and we say which is which. Chinese law also asks visitors to respect local customs and religious beliefs.

Dress

At the Potala Palace and the Jokhang, dress rules are written: no shorts or short skirts, no low-cut or backless tops, and no open-toe slippers. Most Chinese Buddhist temples have no posted dress code, but covering shoulders and knees is the custom, and it is what local worshippers do. Take off your hat inside the halls; at the Potala, sunglasses come off too.

Photos

The default rule is: courtyards yes, inside the halls no. The Lama Temple bans photos and video inside its halls, the Potala bans them inside its halls, and the Jokhang bans them in its main hall. Where there is no sign, look at what others do and do not use flash near statues or murals. Do not photograph people praying close-up, and ask a monk before you take his picture; a smile and pointing at the camera is enough, and many will say no.

Incense

Use the incense the temple gives you. The Lama Temple suggests three sticks and does not allow incense in the halls, and a Lingyin Temple notice asks visitors at the West Lake temples to burn incense only at the marked places. The usual practice is to light the sticks at the burner, hold them at forehead height, bow, and place them upright in the burner. You do not have to take part.

Thresholds and doors

Temple doorways have a raised wooden beam at the bottom. Step over it, not on it; at the Potala this is a written rule. A common custom in Chinese temples is to enter by the left side of a doorway and leave by the right, keeping the centre for monks; follow it if you notice it, but nobody will stop you.

Walking clockwise at Tibetan sites

Walk clockwise around the Barkhor in Lhasa. The same habit applies around stupas, prayer wheels and temple buildings at any Tibetan Buddhist site, including the Lama Temple: keep the holy object on your right, and spin prayer wheels clockwise.

Donations and incense sellers

Donation boxes are voluntary. China's Regulations on Religious Affairs allow temples to accept donations but forbid forcing anyone to give. A 2012 rule from the national religious affairs authority bans guides and tour companies from pushing visitors to burn expensive incense or pay for fortune-telling. If someone in a robe or a tour guide pushes "lucky" incense or a blessing for money, say no and walk on. Our tourist scams guide covers the common versions. For wider customs outside the temple gates, see our cultural etiquette guide.

Mosques

At the Great Mosque in Xi'an, the Prayer Hall is closed to visitors. Elsewhere, custom is long sleeves and long trousers or skirts for everyone, a scarf for women in case you are asked, and avoiding prayer times, especially Friday midday. Take your shoes off if you are invited into a prayer hall.

Foreign visitors and religion

Visiting temples, mosques and churches as an individual is fine. What foreigners may not do is preach, hold group religious activities outside registered venues, try to convert Chinese citizens or hand out religious material.

When temples are most crowded

By custom, Buddhist temples are busiest on the 1st and 15th days of each lunar month, on the Buddha's Birthday (8th day of the 4th lunar month), and over Spring Festival, when people queue to burn the year's "first incense" (头香, tóuxiāng). At Lingyin, the 2026 New Year's Eve first-incense opening ran from 22:00 to 2:00 with paper tickets handed out in person against ID cards; check the temple's notice for the year you visit. The 2027 Lunar New Year falls on 6 February. Our festival calendar lists the lunar dates, and the Golden Week guide covers the national holiday crowds.

Frequently asked questions

Summary

Most of these temples are in or near cities you are probably already visiting: the Lama Temple in Beijing, Lingyin in Hangzhou, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the Great Mosque in Xi'an, Leshan and Qingcheng from Chengdu. Shaolin, Wutai Shan and Mount Emei are worth a trip of their own, and for Lhasa, foreign visitors need a Tibet permit arranged in advance (see our Tibet permit guide). Book the real-name ticket with your passport before you go, cover shoulders and knees, use only the free incense, keep the camera out of the halls, and walk clockwise at Tibetan sites. If you are also planning palaces, walls and tombs, our historical sites guide works the same way, and our museums guide covers museum booking.

Last updated: October 2026