Originally Posted by
doglover
Zoo (pandas) & Summer Palace (could be a lazy day each, or both in one day)
Tianenmen Square / Forbidden City
Back Lakes (book a dinner boat)
Temple of Heaven / Antiques Market (close to each other)
Hutong visit
Consider a day trip to Xi'an to see the warriors. Flights are cheap on ctrip.com
Agree with everything except for zoo (Portland's zoo is 100x better) and "
day trip to Xi'an".
Would also suggest some of the outlying parks (e.g. Xiangshan) since OP has a car.
Finally, much depends on where the OP's relatives live.