With the current heat wave gripping many parts of China, people in some of the worst-affected cities of Shanghai and Hangzhou are scrambling to try to find ways to 'beat the heat.'

 

　　CRI's Liu Min has more.

 

　　August 7th was the date marking the beginning of autumn on this year's Chinese calendar, but the temperatures on that day hit an all-time high of 40.8 degrees Celsius; setting the record for the highest temperature in 140 years since the government began keeping records.

 

　　However, Hangzhou beat Shanghai with 41.2 degrees Celsius the following day. Among the top ten hottest cities across south China, seven of those cities are in Zhejiang province.

 

　　In such extreme weather, people are trying everything to escape the heat. Du Xiaobo is a local Hangzhou resident.

 

　　"There are some old air-raid shelters in Hangzhou, and they are open to local residents to dodge the heat. People also flock to the newly opened subway to get cool. The city forbids people to swim in the Xihu Lake, so some people would swim in the smaller ponds or rivers, and that's quite dangerous."

 

　　Du Xiaobo runs a silk factory in Hangzhou, but he says there is nothing for him to do at the moment at work.

 

　　"We have to ensure the local residents have enough electricity to use so we have to shut down the power at the factory every week. Given that I don't have anything to do with the short supply of power in my factory; I want to travel to northern China and enjoy a cooler climate."

 

　　In Shanghai, people can be found squeezed together in indoor swimming pools, while even more people can be found reading in libraries and shopping malls. The easiest way for them to stay cool is to stay at home with the air-conditioner running. But for those who have to go to work, the burning streets can't be avoided. Taxis are doing extremely well these days, and people have to use the mobile phone application designed for booking cabs in order to ensure that one will be available to pick them up. Inevitably, the high temperatures are taking a toll on some businesses. Here is one Shanghai taxi driver talking about the effect that the weather has had on his own business.

 

　　"Lots of people want to pay more to have a cab picking them up during the morning and evening during rush hours. Even though it is forbidden by the rules, we can still make such money thanks to the high demand."

 

　　Supermarkets are also trying to make more profit from the 'heat economy'. In Hangzhou, supermarkets are offering cooking services to customers. But of course, customers need to choose the ingredients from the supermarkets and they also need to pay for the service fee. But compared to getting sweaty cooking at home, many are quite happy to see their meals prepared by a chef.

 

　　"It's more convenient! I can get full later and now I can just enjoy the coolness watching them cook."

 

　　Some street vendors only show up after 5 PM to protect the freshness of their fruit; marking a big time difference compared to their usual 10 AM start. Many of them roll up their shirts to cool their bellies. While city residents continue to rack their brains on how to fight against the heat, forecasters say the mega city of Hangzhou will have to continue to suffer through the high temperatures until at least this weekend.

 

　　For CRI, I'm Liu Min.