day one Arrive in Beijing. If you're tired you could simply rest at the hotel, enjoying a swim in the hotel's 35-meter pool, and then dining at one of their gourmet restaurants. Otherwise, you might take a stroll down the street to the famous Silk Market or Wangfujing Street, and dine at one of our recommended restaurants. ( Peninsula Palace Hotel - Executive Suite, or St. Regis Hotel - Executive Deluxe Room)     day two This morning's activities contrast colossal monuments of the past and present. After strolling across the iconographic Tiananmen Square, you will enter the magnificent Forbidden City (as in Bertolucci's film "The Last Emperor"). In the afternoon, we take you to the majestic Temple of Heaven. For dinner this evening, you will enjoy a magnificent banquet, set in the palatial, members-only China Club. (B, L, D)   day three Those who enjoy the atmosphere of an open-air market will revel in this morning's trip. Later in the day, you will visit and then dine on the Great Wall (weather permitting). (B, L, D)   day four We begin with a pedicab tour through Beijing's historic alleyways (or hutong ). During this you will be afforded an insight into the everyday life of Beijingers. The hutongs ' intimacy contrasts with the poetic expanses you will see at our afternoon visit to the Summer Palace, a retreat built exclusively for the Dowager Empress Cixi. Its ornate temples, pavilions, and covered corridors, set amidst a graceful landscape, epitomize the refinement of this powerful matriarch.This evening's dinner perpetuates this sense of grace, leaving you with a wonderful memory of this Northern capital. (B, L, D) Please note that B, L, D denotes Breakfast, Lunch Dinner. The above itinerary is based on what past guests have generally enjoyed on a short visit to Beijing. No two guests are the same and while one might love to see the pandas at Beijing Zoo, another might prefer to hear a private lecture on Chinese literature in an elegant tea house. Please tell us your interests and we will customize an itinerary to suit. Guests who prefer to see more and rest less or who have more time to spend in Beijing, might choose to also visit the Lama and Confucius Temples, the West Qing Tombs or the East Qing Tombs. Note that these are only several of the additional sites in Beijing - you really could spend a couple of weeks here alone! City tours are done on a private basis only. Visitors interested in a group tour of China, should view our monthly Imperial Tour itinerary.