The heat of summer has made the scenes in Shanghai's lane houses more vibrant. People dine, rest and socialize in the public areas to avoid the heat trapped inside their homes. (Photos by Gao Erqiang / China Daily)
A look back at how Shanghai residents dealt with unbearable heat during an era when air conditioners were not yet common.
The current heat wave in Shanghai has brought more than just scorching temperatures to the city, with residents also hit by a wave of nostalgia as they reminisce about how they survived a similar situation in 1934.
Average temperatures since July 21 this year has been 37 C and the heat wave is expected to continue for another week. But as unbearable as the current heat wave may seem, the current situation still pales in comparison to the one in 1934.Residents back then had to endure 55 days of overwhelming heat as temperatures constantly exceeded 35 C, with the mercury peaking at 40.2 C at one point.
That year also marked the fourth hottest summer in the United States, with 13 states experiencing stifling temperatures of over 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
The rainy season in Shanghai, which usually lasts for weeks ahead of the onset of the summer heat, lasted just one day that year, according to the Hundred Cases of China's Severe Disasters in the 20th Century.
Heat wave in history
The heatwave of 1934 was so serious that on June 26, 61 million gallons of water was used. It was the largest daily consumption volume of water for the year. The heat had also caused the stock market in Shanghai to halt its afternoon trading for the entire month of July.
The municipal government took measures to help people cope with the heat as well - companies and factories were told to let their employees off work at 4 o'clock, an hour earlier than normal.
The rickshaw pullers' union also helped their members submit less of their earnings to their bosses so that the latter could buy apair of shoes to protect their feet from the scorching hot tarred roads.
Over at the 44 air-conditioned cinemas in the city, the movie The Song of Fishermen had an unusually long run of 84 days as it gave residents the opportunity to enjoy two hours of reprieve from the heat for just 50 cents. Because of this incident, a neighborhood was later named after the movie.
Other ways of escaping the heat wave was making a trip to the mountain resorts in the north. For those who could not afford to do so, they resorted to finding a spot in the shade and passed time by exchanging ghost stories, according to local newspapers back then.
