DragonAir is a good airline, although the flights tend to be more full because it has a better reputation among non-Chinese fliers. Are you planning to fly r/t from HKG to Beijing? If so, you may be best off getting a DragonAir holiday package. Even if you are planning to visit a PEK and another city, you could always do an open jaw package. If you haven't booked your ticket from the USA to Asia yet, you may want to consider doing an open jaw into PEK and then returning from HKG. You won't be able to take advantage of the DragonAir Holiday packages, but your airfare would be considerably lower, as flights to PEK run about $100-$200 lower than to HKG on UA (and I believe that is true with NW and other carriers as well).

As far as hotels are concerned, the St Regis is the closest big name hotel to the Forbidden City and one of the newest as well. The China World, the Traders, and the Kerry Center Hotels are in the eastern part of the city on or right off the Third Ring Road where all the major multinationals have their offices. These are all good 4-5 star properties as well. There are lots of good restaurants in this part of the city.

Check out www.chinanow.com if you want some updated event ideas for China (site is in English and Chinese).