Residents who don't have air conditioners cool off at West Jinshajiang Road Station.(Wei Yi)
The scorching weather has forced residents of a suburban village to seek refuge from the heat in a nearby Metro station.
West Jinshajiang Road Station on Metro Line 13 has recently seen an increasing number of people, most of them from nearby Xinfu Village, spending the day sitting or lying on the ground because they do not have air conditioning in their homes.
At about 3:30pm yesterday, more than 50 mats were placed along a passage connecting two station exits.
"It's too hot in our home," Gao, a 53-year-old resident who came to the station with her 4-year-old granddaughter and grandson, told Shanghai Daily. "Our rented home is very small and we do not have air conditioners."
Like Gao, most people who come to cool off are migrants and rent homes in the village.
Many children and teenagers arrive with their parents or grandparents, and some even do their homework.
A station staffer surnamed Xu said hot, sweaty residents began to descend on the station on Saturday as the mercury began to climb, and some stay all day.
According to Metro regulations, people are not allowed to lie on the ground in stations, and violators can be fined between 50 yuan (US$7.5) and 500 yuan.
"We understand that the residents would not resort to cooling off in the Metro station if they had other choices," Xu said. "But we will remind them to keep their things in good order, and we would prefer it if they did not lie down."
The station has staffers patrolling the area, ensuring there is a clear passage for passengers to walk through and that the station is kept clean. "They come here because their living conditions are not very good and also probably because there is a lack of parks or public facilities for the residents to go to on hot days," Xu said. Officials from the local neighborhood committee and urban management team will help to maintain order at the station, he added.
