Looking at the map, it seems the Hilton Wangfujing and Waldorf Astoria are across the street from each other, and "reasonably close" to the Forbidden City (Google says 20 minute walk?). The closest SPG hotels seem to be the W Beijing - Chang'an and St. Regis, which Google says are an hour walk.

Is this right?

Seems Forbidden City is going to be closed by the time I get to Beijing, so is there any sight-seeing to do in the late afternoon/early evening?

I'd go with the St. Regis in your case. The area is pretty nice this time of year (i.e. not a concrete jungle).

I'm gonna use this advice for a future trip to Beijing. Thanks!

The advice in the instant case is a bit seasonal in nature; Ritan Park is a lot less appealing in January v. June. That having been said, I still think the St Regis is a good pick, year round.

GuGong is closed at every monday but not from July 1 to August 31.

He/she is leaving on Sunday, so Monday closure is not relevant.

I know but he/she wrote

"Seems Forbidden City is going to be closed by the time I get to Beijing, so is there any sight-seeing to do in the late afternoon/early evening?"

Just wanted to let him him/her know that it´s open at this time.

Thanks for the hotel advice.

And to alleviate any pronoun confusion, I'm a "he" :)

When I said Forbidden City will be closed, I meant that I will be getting to Beijing late enough in the day that it will be closed for the day, so I will not be able to enter. The website I looked at says the last entry is at 16:10, and my flight from Hong Kong is not scheduled to land until 15:15, so I don't think that's an option on day of arrival. I also am seeing that even though the park at the Temple of Heaven is open late, the "main attractions" there close at 17:30. The same website (https://www.travelchinaguide.com/) says the Summer Palace closes at 18:00 but the scenic spots close at 17:00

So do you have any suggestions for an early evening excursion, if I am going to stay at the St. Regis?

Or should I consider hiring someone to meet me at the airport and take me to the Great Wall (or somewhere else?) and then take me back to the hotel that evening, and then spend sunday in Beijing proper?

My (domestic) flight leaves Beijing at 20:00 on sunday.

I like the idea of hitting the great wall on the way into town, but most of the well known sections also stop admitting people at around 4 or 5. Unregulated sections like huanghua don't close (please verify first), but tend to be a bit on the dangerous side, especially as dusk sets in.

In the event that plan seems too troublesome and/or ambitious, I want to emphasize that tourist attractions comprise only a small fraction of Beijing's appeal.

Assuming you end up staying at the St Regis, Ritan Park is a decent place for an evening stroll, or you might be able to hit the rooftop of the Emperor Hotel, which overlooks the Forbidden City, before dark. It's honestly hard to go wrong in Beijing during summertime evenings/nights (e.g. in my younger days, walking out of bars in the midst of that 430a sunrise was pretty much SOP).

I think that the Qianmen/Dashilar area is a good place to walk around at the end of the day and early evening. With people back from work and kids back from school, the hutong area gets very lively. And there are many options for places to eat.
Just a short taxi ride away.

I reached out to a travel group that my co-worker used when she was in Beijing last year. Based on what I was thinking, here is their proposed tour itinerary, at a cost of 4400 RMB, including admission to any sites:

Day 1: Meet me at the airport with a private car and english-speaking tour guide. Go to Mutianyu (they tell me that Mutianyu stops selling tickets at 17:30 and stops admittance at 19:00, so they are planning to have someone buy my tickets, just in case, and hand them off to the driver/guide). Drive me to my hotel in Beijing after.

Day 2: Private english-speaking guide to take me around Beijing, including Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Hutong walking tour and Fayuan Temple. We would use public transportation.

I would then take a taxi from my hotel to the airport.

I am curious to hear feedback on the proposed itinerary and proposed cost.

I'm no expert but that price for the tour does seem high. My co-worker and I have a private guide & driver (one day - guide drove us himself on day 2) for $400 ($100 each per day for 2 days; well, day and a half and he drove us to the airport after the Wall at Huanghuachung on Day 2) which is about half what you were quoted. You are getting more, but I'm not able to discern if it's twice as much more ;-)
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china...l#post25881888

At what time does your flight arrive?
A driver to take you to Mutianyu and then to your hotel is around 700RMB. Absolutely no need for a guide. I thought that Mutianyu was closing earlier (17h) but they must know.
Next day, a decent guide for a whole day is 800 to 1000RMB per day. On day 2 program is light. Not sure why they take you to Fayuan temple given your limited time.

My flight from Hong Kong is scheduled to land at 15:15. Every website I've looked at also says Mutianyu closes around 17:00, but the person I'm corresponding with says the last ticket is sold at 17:30 and they aren't very strict about clearing the people out at 19:00.

So it sounds like this tour is quite a bit more expensive than it ought to be. Their car/driver rate is 1000 RMB/day, and their guides are 1600 RMB for the Great Wall tour and 1800 RMB for the city tour.

Definitely overpriced. 1600RMB for a guide to the Great Wall! Never seen this before, crazy.