Forbidden City In Depth Small Group Guided Tour With Tickets

We had a truly wonderful experience with the ZANBUS team, and especially with our fantastic tour guide, Icy. Everything was perfectly organized and ran smoothly from beginning to end. Icy was exceptionally knowledgeable, friendly, helpful, and attentive. She took the time to understand our individual needs and wishes, answered all our questions with patience, and made the history of the Forbidden City fascinating and easy to understand. Her warm and considerate manner made the tour particularly enjoyable. We would book this tour again without hesitation. Icy is an excellent guide, and we can highly recommend this service to anyone visiting Beijing. An outstanding experience—thank you to Icy and the entire ZANBUS team!

A wonderful Forbidden City experience with Icy! My friend and I had a fantastic time exploring the Forbidden City with Icy. She was friendly, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic, making the history of this remarkable place both easy to understand and fascinating to discover. She speaks very good, clear English, which made her explanations easy to follow. We came away with a much deeper appreciation of what we were seeing. What we appreciated most was her warm and attentive approach. She made us feel welcome and comfortable throughout the tour, creating a relaxed atmosphere in which we could enjoy the visit and ask questions. At the end of the tour, she even helped us get a taxi and waited with us until she was sure we would get to the right destination. We really appreciated her thoughtfulness and the extra care she took to look after us, even after the tour had finished. Icy truly made our visit memorable, and we would highly recommend her to anyone planning to explore the Forbidden City. Thank you, Icy, for a wonderful tour! Regards from Poland.

Excellent experience. Highly recommended for visitors who are genuinely curious to learn about the history, culture, customs and sociology related to the forbidden city. The Guide is incredibly knowledgeable, kind, and professional!

We booked a 3h guided tour in English of the Forbidden City with our guide Icy and had a great time! We were a small group of 5 people, which we find was easier to move around especially in very crowded areas. Icy was very welcoming and knowledgeable. She had a lot of interesting facts about all the different chambers, gardens, pavilions and overall History of the city and culture. The place is massive and absolutely stunning! The pace of the visit was just right, enough time to take pictures and look around without staying too long in one place. They even have a cafe and shop for you to take a break during the visit. Great value for money (tour + entry tickets), would definitely recommend booking a visit!

Sometime we think that a guide is not necessary, because we have prepared the visite with reading and documentaries, but with a quality and qualified guide, it changes everything. We are able to have a better understanding, some precious details, and a special experience. I really enjoyed the contact with the guide and her disponibility to answer our questions, and her ability to make a costumized visit out of the bitten tracks.

Nothing to fault ! A small group, an excellent and very pleasant guide who knows how to share her knowledge of the Forbidden City and of China’s history and the discovery of less crowded but nevertheless exquisite parts of the palace recently opened to visitors after a long and careful restoration (the Qianlong private quarters). I have visited the Forbidden City several times but this is certainly my most enjoyable experience there.

Icy did great - it was one of our best tours in China.

Really kind guide, very patient and detailed explanation. We really recommand this trip

Amazing experience! This small-group tour was the perfect way to discover the Forbidden City. Our guide was knowledgeable, funny, and very thoughtful. She prepared cold water and cooling patches for us and arranged the pace very well, especially during the hot weather. What made this tour special was visiting the hidden areas beyond the main halls, including the Furniture Gallery, Treasure Gallery, Imperial Theatre, and the Emperor’s private garden. It gave us a much deeper understanding of the Forbidden City. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a more unique and personal Forbidden City experience.

Icy is a great tour guide and very knowledgeable about the history of the forbidden city.

Icy was very informative and friendly. Also was very patient and helped us with the next day sightseeing as well.

Excellent visit with Icy. Booked a group tour but there were only three of us so felt very personal. Icy is a great guide - very knowledgeable and excellent English. Highly recommended

Icy was absolutely fantastic! She didn’t just recite dates and facts,she brought the history of Forbidden ciry to life with vivid stories and local legends. What impressed us most was her ability to answer every random question we threw at her—from architecture details to modern local life. We never felt rushed, and she even gave us brilliant tips for authentic local restaurants after the tour. If you want to understand the soul of the Forbidden city rather than just seeing the palaces, book this tour without hesitation.

We had only one day in Beijing, but thanks to our incredible guide Icy, we got to experience the Forbidden City like never before. Not only did we see all the main palaces, but she also took us to some hidden areas that most tourists miss—those off-the-beaten-path spots made the visit truly special. Icy's knowledge was astonishing; she brought every hall and courtyard to life with fascinating stories. She was also incredibly thoughtful, always finding the best photo spots away from the crowds so we could capture perfect shots without the hassle. If you're looking for a unique, stress-free, and deeply enriching tour of the Forbidden City, this is the one. Highly recommended! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 10 stars!

Unique route, learned a lot of knowledge

Icy has great knowledge of her work! She was great throughout the whole tour!

Fantastic experience, the guide enlightened us on the history of the Forbidden City! AMAZING!