I'm there from 4:30pm on Monday to 3:30pm that Wednesday at the end of October so I may be looking for your details. ;)

Basically just the one full day in town so no trip to the wall or tombs. I'm guessing an hour or two in the Forbidden City will be enough just walking through; I'm not much into museums anyways.

Are those arrival and departure times?

I don't see any reason why you can't go see the wall....I think any visit to BJ warrants a visit to that....

Make sure you have some kind of a plan of what you see before you go - everything is a lot further apart than you will expect and it helps to have some sort of plan, especially if you're on a tight schedule. Meaning - it will take you 2 hours to see the Forbidden City, but factoring in transportation and walking around will add more time than you think

How does this work for late Nov? 2+ hours in the park? I have almost 3 days on the ground and if you recommend the walk for colder weather, I'm game

Cheers -

It shouldn't be super cold then. Shortly after posting my remark about winter already setting in yesterday, I walked outside and experienced 85 degree weather. You'll be fine (very low chance of precipitation and count on temperatures between 45 and 65 degrees).

Alternate plan (for the hipsters among us)
 

I arrived in BJ late Friday night (after a 6 day, 6 city blitz in the US/Canada/HK), and was planning on chilling in Shuangjing for the weekend. But, then my little cousin showed up, and I felt compelled to do stuff with him.

On Saturday, we attended a polo match near 798, which we followed up with a b'day party near sanlitun. This was really cool.

Sunday morning, my cousin woke me up and asked me to bring him to a park. My first thought was Chaoyag Park because it is big and nice. But, he got on the internet and implored me to go to the old Summer Palace (圆明园). We entered from the south gate (near the subway station), circumabluated the stuff we're supposed to care about, and headed west.

As we progressed, "culture" became increasingly displaced with roaming through baron fields. We ended up climbing a fence and hailing a cab on a fast moving highway, which we directed to our beloved "Great Leap".

In short, it was a great day. If any of you fancy to replicate this journey, you'll have a good time, but I liked most about it is that it reminded me that Beijing is a really interesting place... the city itself is infinitely cooler than the history that lies behind it. People that stick to the straight and narrow are depriving themselves of it.

I'm staying very close to the Forbidden City so transit on that front shouldn't be a problem.

Do you think it makes sense to try to tourist in town a bit on Monday night and Wednesday morning and get the Wall in on Tuesday during the day?

would this day trip work in early January? ! we'll be there 1/1/2014 to 1/3/2013 with one full day (1/2)..

It really depends on the weather. If the Siberian winds happen to be cranking during your visit, I would certainly trim a bit of the fat off, but January weather can also be somewhat mild (I wouldn't bet on it, but it does happen on occasion).

You might want to craft a backup plan that focuses more on indoor activities like eating and massages... just in case.

And a hot pot lunch! Nothing better on a cold windy Beijing day than hitting a steamy hot pot place.

any specific place in mind that is a 'must' eat during the visit? :D the beijing day is the last leg of our trip and we may just pick few things and relax as we will arriving the night before from phuket and then a long flight to JFK the next day. i do want to make the best out of the day ! i am actually trying to see if i can extend my award ticket to another day but i am not finding saver flights ;/ well i did a few weeks ago but i didn't take advantage of it in time ...so for now it is ONE day !

Looking for ideas for most of a Saturday before my evening flight leaves - mid Oct.

I've been to all(?) the "major" sights (FC, SP, Tiananmen, Mutianyu Wall, Beihai, Temple of Heaven, Lama Temple, Olympic Park). Looking for new ideas for a morning to mid-afternoon before going to airport.

How about the university area (and, maybe zhongguancun)?

Possible specifics:
-walk beida/tsinghua campuses
-join pick up basketball game
-coffee shop
-chances are, you will meet some really smart people along the way

If you decide to go this route, plan it in a manner that does not require backtracking (e.g. arrange driver).

Panjiayuan? Xiang Shan? The Botanical Garden?

Dong Yue Miao 东岳庙

No.141 Chaoyangmen Street, Chaoyang District

100020朝阳区朝阳门外大街141号

This temple is worth to visit for 1-2 hours (but not to hang around for longer).

Do not try to go to Xiangshan (or Botanical Garden which is in the same area) on an October Saturday. Traffic jams are a nightmare, with half of Beijing trying to get there to see the autumn leaves.

Panjiayuan only if into markets/shopping. 798/Caochangdi Art Districts if you're into that.

--Central area: Zhihua Temple then Ancient Observatory then Dongyue Miao. Onsite needs are 1 hour, 1 hour, and 1.5 hours. Transport between the first two could be done on foot, then subway one stop up + a walk between the 2nd two.

--Near SW side: Fayuan Si, Ox Street Mosque area, then Tianning Si (oldest building still left in Beijing, Liao dynasty), Yuyuantan Park, and either Military or Capital Museums. All of this could be done in a circuit fitting your time frame.

--The newish Automobile Museum, SW part of city. If into cars.