Quick answer: Bring the original passport for railway boarding and for the Palace Museum if that is the document you used to book. A phone photo is useful as backup information but is not a universal boarding or admission document. There is no evidence here for a blanket rule that every walk around town requires displaying your original.
Original versus photo: the checkpoint matrix
| Checkpoint | What is actually supported | Photo-only plan? |
|---|---|---|
| 12306 station entry and boarding | Passenger shows the valid identity document used for their railway ticket | Do not rely on a photo |
| Palace Museum / Forbidden City | Reservation holder must carry the original valid booked identity document to enter at Meridian Gate | No |
| Hotel check-in | Hotel needs to verify and register foreign guests' passport information | Bring original; ask property about its procedure |
| Cafés, ordinary city walks, shops | This research does not establish a universal requirement to display a passport at every such stop | Not a checkpoint-wide legal conclusion |
| Other museums and attractions | Rules depend on the venue and booked ticket | Check the venue before leaving the hotel |
The key distinction is between a document needed for a particular controlled entry and what you choose to keep in your bag on an ordinary outing. Do not infer the second rule from the first.
12306: the document on the ticket matters
China Railway's official English FAQ says passengers should keep their electronic ticket details and present the valid identity document used to purchase the ticket for station entry, boarding and exit checks. It explicitly recognizes eligible foreign passports for real-name railway tickets.
Your booking screenshot or emailed itinerary can help find the order, but is not by itself the valid travel identity document. If you lost the document used to buy a train ticket, the same 12306 FAQ describes a procedure for a certificate from the competent issuing authority. That is not the same as showing an arbitrary phone photograph at a gate.
Forbidden City: original means original
The Palace Museum's current official booking notice permits non-mainland visitors to use a passport for the reservation, and states that visitors must bring the original valid ID used to make that reservation to enter. Meridian Gate is the entry gate. A saved passport scan is not the rule listed by the museum.
If you're visiting with another family member, each reservation is tied to the identity document of that person. Double-check the passport used when booking instead of assuming that a different ID, or an old passport photograph, will work.
Hotels and private accommodation are different
Hotels handle guest accommodation registration and normally ask to see valid identity documentation at check-in. If you are staying with friends or in a non-hotel home, foreign-guest accommodation registration follows a separate procedure. For either case, a phone photo should not be presented as an automatically accepted substitute for actual identity verification.
If a hotel incorrectly claims it cannot host a foreign visitor at all, see what to do if a China hotel refuses a foreign passport. Non-hotel registration has a separate official process.
The practical checklist for tomorrow
- List every venue where you have a ticket or advance reservation.
- Open its official visitor instructions and check whether the booked original document must be present.
- If you're taking a train or visiting the Forbidden City, pack the actual passport used in that reservation.
- Keep a digital copy in a secure place for your own reference, not as a guaranteed admission substitute.
- Use a zipped internal pocket or suitable travel pouch and keep the passport separate from your phone when sensible.
- If your passport is missing, report and seek replacement guidance from appropriate authorities and your embassy or consulate; do not assume a scanner photo will authorize boarding.
请问这个景点需要出示护照原件，还是可以使用护照照片？我预约时使用的是外国护照。
Does this attraction require my original passport, or can it accept a photograph? I booked with a foreign passport.
Sources and limits
- 12306 English railway identity requirements
- Palace Museum official reservation and original document conditions
- Palace Museum visitor notice
Checked October 14, 2026. This is a task-based identity-document matrix, not a legal opinion asserting a blanket always-carry rule.