101 Days of Summer: Four Seasons Hotel Beijing Invites Guests to Enjoy the Charm of Beijing in Summer

In Beijing’s summer, cicadas chirp in tandem with pigeon whistles over gray-tiled roofs, sunlight dappling the ground through locust tree branches. In the hazy glow of dawn-dusk, figures sway paper fans, tracing the veins of "summer" back to the imprints of memory. The pastry artisans at Four Seasons Hotel Beijing have carefully kneaded childhood flavours into existence, using ingenious creativity to reinterpret the local tales and textures of bygone times.

Amid relentless cicada song, the cool aroma of floral mosquito repellent drifts from deep within the hutongs. A bite of the vibrant layered cake reveals dew-kissed guava with tropical richness and juicy, blushing peaches, exuding a delicate botanical fragrance. The red bean ice lollies clutched after boating on Beihai Lake, and mung bean puffs inspired by Summer Palace sunsets, both capture the season’s cooling essence. Holding a watermelon slice, the fragrance of jasmine tea mingles with the crispness of green grapes in a light green grape mousse—each spoonful wraps summer’s sweetness and tea’s elegance, rippling gently on the tongue. A few hawthorn chocolate scones, fluffy and moist with evenly spread air pockets, release a harmony of tangy hawthorn and deep chocolate aroma.

Strolling among gray brick alleyways, one is often halted by the corner shop’s orange soda—the "pop" of the cap and rising bubbles instantly transform summer heat into weightless delight. The Beijing-born pastry team has locked childhood summer memories in the depths of the palate, crafting the Beijing Summer Parfait. Modern techniques reinterpret flavours: a base of refreshing orange soda jelly layered with old Beijing honey yogurt, sprinkled with dark chocolate nut crumble, topped with cream and candied orange crisps, and finished with citrus-jasmine sorbet and velvety taro ice cream. When the effervescence of orange soda, the nostalgia of yogurt, citrus’s zing, jasmine’s grace, chocolate’s richness, and taro’s silkiness converge in the glass, it’s a dialogue between hutong charm and modern sophistication—layer upon layer of Beijing’s summer on the tongue.

The sea bass tartare is a concerto of crunch and creaminess, salt and sweetness, journeying from lotus ponds and fields to the deep sea. Childhood joy of boating on Beihai Lake inspires the Boat-Shaped Emerald Scallop—tender scallops, creamy edamame, and crisp-sweet carrots in three hues of green, evoking sun-drenched summers. The cherry valley duck sauce, shaped like delicate cherries with a glossy, sweet-scented glaze, reveals a luscious, unctuous duck filling when bitten into. Paired with a crispy sesame scallion pancake, the sweet-savoury notes of Beijing cuisine strike a symphony on the tongue, a collision of tradition and ingenuity. The Summer Tomato Jelly translates childhood memories of icy tomatoes into a bridge between Eastern creaminess and Western salinity—a playful, multi-layered harmony of homey sweetness, rich dairy, and exotic crunch.

These stories hidden in the palate traverse time, weaving a vivid tapestry of Beijing’s summer. Within this vibrant ode to the city lie 101 whispers of cicadas and hutongs, quietly converging to come alive upon meeting guests—each bite a romantic sparkle brewed from hutongs and dawn-dusk, ascending like a sigh that dissipates the summer heat. A fan stirs gently in hand, porcelain bottles of yogurt glisten with dew, and the first bite of a ripe peach releases fragrant sweetness. Rowing across Beihai Park’s glassy waters, oars carve ripples that shimmer like liquid gold. Onshore, a red bean popsicle melts slowly in one’s hand, its chill blending with the Summer Palace’s sunset glow. These nostalgic vignettes, once seared into the senses, now journey through time’s corridors—stitching together a luminous mosaic of Beijing’s 101 days of summer.

Within this vibrant, ever-breathing tapestry of heritage lies the romance of 101 days of summer—gently woven, tenderly shaped into delicate confections. Each one slumbers in wait, a whispered promise of rebirth, until their fated hour arrives to blossom anew in a shared symphony of wonder and sweet, sunlit delight.

Starting from June 1, 2025, the 101 Days of Summer Themed Afternoon Tea at Four Seasons Hotel Beijing is available at CNY 258 per person or CNY 498 for two guests. For more information or reservations, contact the Opus Lounge at Four Seasons Hotel Beijing at +86 (10) 5695 8532.