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Cai Yi Xuan

Beijing · Cantonese

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A researched professional record. Inclusion does not confirm representation, availability or interest in a new project.

At a glance

Cai Yi Xuan is the Cantonese restaurant at Four Seasons Hotel Beijing. Its art-garden-inspired setting frames cooking that combines a Cantonese foundation with seasonal ingredients and northern Chinese influences. Li Qiang’s team is identified directly by the hotel rather than inferred from the restaurant’s star.[1] [2]

Cooking & identity

Li’s references include Cantonese, Beijing, Tianjin and Chaozhou cooking. Seasonal produce and a restrained visual style sit alongside the practical skill of the wok; his biography frames innovation as a continuation of tradition.[2] [1]

The restaurant’s stated philosophy

Paraphrased from the restaurant, its group or a named chef’s statement.

In the hotel’s account, the restaurant seeks a balance between classical and contemporary Cantonese cooking. Seasonal produce and respect for Chinese food culture are central; Li describes innovation as grounded in tradition.

His biography also connects meals with childhood, family and shared memory. He presents simplicity and the relationship between people and food as goals, rather than novelty as an end in itself.

[2] [1]

Why this profile is included

Included for a guide-recognised Beijing Cantonese kitchen, a documented resident chef’s career and two separately announced Bangkok–Beijing exchanges in 2026.[1] [2] [3]

Connected restaurant / chef: Li Qiang

Independent observations

ChefsLanding · · Editorial commentary on the public record

Hotel Cantonese restaurants can disappear beneath their own vocabulary: timeless, refined, exquisite. Cai Yi Xuan offers a more useful way in through a Tianjin-born chef’s route into Cantonese cooking and a working exchange with Bangkok. Those details give the adjectives some actual work to do.

We follow it for that movement between northern references and Cantonese technique. A four-hands should help make those differences visible. Merely placing two hotel logos on the menu is a job for the printer; the cooks need to contribute something else.

Sources & dates [2] [5] [4]

Recent developments

  1. 2026-03–05

    The 2026 record contains two separately announced exchanges with Yu Ting Yuan: March in Bangkok and May in Beijing.[4] [5]

Collaborations & guest appearances

3 collaboration projects · 2 within the two-year research window

Projects are deduplicated: multiple nights, venues or reports do not automatically become separate collaborations. Food-and-drink events and shared festival appearances are labelled by format.

Show all history
  1. Four handsScheduled date passed · announcement

    Li Qiang × Tommy Cheung · Beijing


    • Cai Yi Xuan, Four Seasons Beijing · Beijing
      Scheduled date passed · announcement

    Participants / partners
    Li Qiang / Cai Yi Xuan · Tommy Cheung / Yu Ting Yuan

    A separate hotel announcement scheduled Tommy Cheung visiting Cai Yi Xuan on 29–30 May. This Beijing project is distinct from the March Bangkok engagement; multiple services within each visit remain one project.[5]

  2. Four handsScheduled date passed · announcement

    Li Qiang × Tommy Cheung · Bangkok


    • Yu Ting Yuan, Four Seasons Bangkok · Bangkok
      Scheduled date passed · announcement

    Participants / partners
    Li Qiang / Cai Yi Xuan · Tommy Cheung / Yu Ting Yuan

    Four Seasons Bangkok announced Li Qiang visiting Tommy Cheung at Yu Ting Yuan for two spring dinners. Northern Chinese references and contemporary Cantonese cooking form the stated theme.[4]

  3. Six handsScheduled date passed · announcement

    Li Qiang × Chan Yan Tak × Wang Yong


    • Cai Yi Xuan, Four Seasons Beijing · Beijing
      Scheduled date passed · announcement

    Participants / partners
    Li Qiang / Cai Yi Xuan · Chan Yan Tak / Lung King Heen · Wang Yong / Jin Sha

    The hotel announced a7November 2019 dinner at Cai Yi Xuan with Li Qiang, Lung King Heen’s Chan Yan Tak and Jin Sha’s Wang Yong. The original announcement is retained as historical evidence.[6]

Recognition over time

Restaurant ratings and individual honours are listed separately. Editorial profiles are labelled as coverage.

  1. 2027

    MICHELIN Beijing–Tianjin · one star in the current guide profile[3]

  2. 2026

    MICHELIN Beijing · one star, explicitly identified in hotel’s October 2025 release[1]

Sources & dates

Public biographies, restaurant statements and named projects checked on 4 November 2026. Exact employment dates and unreported engagements may remain unavailable.

  1. press.fourseasons.com · Cai Yi Xuan · hotel’s2025 recognition and concept statement ↗Published 2025-10-29 · Checked 2026-11-04
  2. press.fourseasons.com · Li Qiang · official career and cooking philosophy ↗Checked 2026-11-04
  3. MICHELIN · Cai Yi Xuan · MICHELIN ↗Checked 2026-11-04
  4. press.fourseasons.com · Yu Ting Yuan × Cai Yi Xuan · Bangkok spring programme ↗Checked 2026-11-04
  5. press.fourseasons.com · Cai Yi Xuan × Yu Ting Yuan · Beijing programme ↗Published 2026-05-15 · Checked 2026-11-04
  6. press.fourseasons.com · Cai Yi Xuan ·2019 three-chef collaboration ↗Published 2019-10-28 · Checked 2026-11-04
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