While Chengde and Pingyao are certainly more viable than your proposed Xi'an plan, you will not run out of things to do in Beijing itself.
My thoughts:
-refer to the "one day in Beijing" thread, and do my standard drill
-allocate a day for the Great Wall, and consider using Beijing Hikers because they go to places that you are unlikely to find on your own
-spend a day on the north side of town (universities, 798, Korean food)
-simply relax for the remaining 2 days (spa/massage, Sanlitun, Chaoyang Park, maybe even Xiangshan, which is wonderful in the fall... just not on weekends)
I view the day in Xi'an as "work".
Originally Posted by
saranyc
Thanks for the replies! I would try to do the warriors in one day if I could fly if not I'd probably skip them this trip and plan for them next time. So figure:
Warriors - full day.. hopefully
Wall - full day
Beijing (Summer palace, Tiananmen Square, etc) - two days
Which leaves one day (or two if I end up not doing the warriors). Anyone been to the Yungang Grottoes, Mount Watai or the Moutain Resort in Chengde, or Ping Yao?
Just pulling some stuff off here:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list that seems to be within day trip distance. Sometimes UNESCO sites aren't worth a trip alone which is why I'm asking which (if any) of those is worth it and has other things to see around it...