Beat the Heat: The 6 Best Ways to Survive the Remainder of Beijing's Summer

Liqiu (立秋), the day on which the sun reached its peak at the celestial longitude of 135 degrees, and officially marking the end of summer according to the Chinese solar calendar, has come and gone. This means that technically, autumn is now on its way in.

However, we're still hot and trying to think of ways to beat the heat just for these last couple of weeks. Below are some tips on what to eat and drink to stay cool (apart from plenty of water), and how to keep yourself entertained without breaking a sweat.

1. Cooling Foods

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, some foods are more cooling than others, particularly those that hold plenty of yin, the female balance to the male and fiery yang. While the list of foods that are cooling is apparently neverending, here are some that are not only easier to access in Beijing, but also simple to incorporate in your day-to-day cooking.

• Berries (all berries)
• Cucumber
• Spinach (for example in this green smoothie recipe over on our sister website)
• Peaches (also contain high levels of vitamin A and C)
• Pineapple (is also the only known source of an enzyme called bromelain, which is credited for reducing inflammation in the body)
• Lemon 
• Bananas
• Avocado
• Coconut 
• Melons (especially bitter melon and watermelon)

2. Make Your Own Popsicles

Most of the ingredients listed under #1 can also be easily incorporated into your own homemade popsicles, some basic recipes for which can be found here.

If you're looking to go boozy, check out our piece on alcoholic popsicles here to add a little extra buzz to your next party.

3. The Cinema

If making your own popsicles isn't enough to keep you entertained, there's plenty more to do indoors. The good news is that Netflix is probably coming our way, meaning we'll never have to leave the house again, but while we wait for that, Beijing's cinemas are also plenty cool, with this summer seeing more international releases than before as a result of dropping box office revenue. We recently went to see The Secret Life of Pets, which proved both entertaining and almost as cute as Finding Dory. 

4. Celebrate Your Patriotism (/Drool Over Ning Zetao) by Watching the Olympics

For the grownups, streaming the Olympics is another great way to stay entertained indoors and revive the patriotism you lost as soon as you stepped out of your passport nation and entered China. We've found a couple of ways to help you to do that.

If that's not enough, there's also Ning Zetao, whose abs have apparently gotten everyone (read: The Daily Mail) and their grandma sobbing in joy and have already claimed the lives of a couple of children (don't quote us on that).

5. Pools and Water Parks

Now you've seen what swimming can do for your physique, duck out of the heat and pretend to be on holiday at one of Beijing's many swimming pools, which cater to all budgets. Wanna take cooling off to THE EXTREME?! Well, good sir, you'll be happy to hear that there is no shortage of water parks in our city.

6. Wait For Real Autumn

Mostly though, we have to admit, we're anxiously twiddling our thumbs waiting for the temperatures to drop just a little bit to spend the Beijing autumn frequenting our favorite al fresco hang-outs. Sigh. Go sweat it out if you do so dare.

More stories by this author here.

Email: margauxschreurs@truerun.com
Instagram: s.xuagram

Photos: thejuicechef.com, pixabay.com, courtesy of Nuo Hotel, Ken, Daily Mail