Summer is here.

It is the peak peach picking season. Peaches originated in China, where they are one of the most ancient domesticated fruits, with nearly 4,000 years of cultivation. To this day, as the world's leading peach producer, China produces almost half of the world's peaches — 15 million tons of peaches as of 2020.

On a hot summer day, there's nothing like sinking your teeth into a perfectly ripe, juicy peach. It's one of summer's simplest pleasures, but it's not the only way to eat a peach. Peach is a popular ingredient in milk tea, smoothie and cocktail, and you can also enjoy them cooked in desserts.

Suanmeitang (sour plum soup), a traditional refreshing beverage for Chinese people to get rid of the heat, which can be traced back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties more than 3,000 years ago.

It is said to be used by imperial physicians to treat epidemics in ancient times and traditional Chinese medicine ingredients, such as sharen (Amomum villosum), doukou (Amomum kravanh), could be found in its recipe. Nowadays, sharen and doukou are removed in order to eliminate the bitterness and reduce the cost of the drink, and the recipe has evolved into a combination of dark plum, dried tangerine peel, hawthorn and licorice. To make it look nicer and increase the fragrance, you can also add roselle or rose to it.