Society

China cooks up a heatwave to suit all tastes

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-07-29 19:01

BEIJING - How will you remember China's summer of 2010 -- roasting, grilling or frying?

Apart from the sweat, the heat and the humidity, the sweltering weather is likely to be remembered for one other thing -- the barrage of on-line metaphors to describe the discomfort.

And in time-honored Chinese style, most people are turning to their culinary traditions.

"I feel like a piece of meat in an oven," said a posting from "Doudoutang" in Beijing Thursday.

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Another Beijinger under the name "Wind" said of the city's infamous "sauna weather," "I feel I am frying in oil under the sun."

And from Xi'an in the west came a more exotic comparison: "Even sleeping on the bamboo mat, I still feel like a piece of teppan beef," wrote "Stranger A" on Douban.com.

Others simply described how the heat destroyed their snack of choice: "Is the air boiling? I saw my lollipop melt in my hand," said a mournful posting from "Yi'ou," in Shanghai.

The hot weather became a hot topic as Internet commentators across the country, from north and south, scrambled to express their distress.

The heatwave has continued in Beijing since Friday and the city had recorded more than 10 days with temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius this month, according to the National Meteorological Center of China.

"The sauna weather has blasted north China cities for days, bringing high humidity and little relief at night," said Yang Guiming, chief forecaster of the National Meteorological Center.

In Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, the weather has become as reliable as an alarm clock. "I used to sleep in, but today the heat simply woke me up at 7 am," said an on-line posting by "Zhe."

Even methods to keep cool have inspired vivid comparisons: "The electric fan feels like a hair drier," wrote Zhe.

And the non-stop hum of air conditioners has begun to sound deceptively sweet: "The water dripping from the air-conditioners sounds like rain," wrote "Robber" from Beijing.

The heatwave continued Thursday with temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius in 18 provinces, municipalities or autonomous regions, according to the National Meteorological Center.

Some areas in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Gansu Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, all in north China, saw the mercury top40 degrees Celsius.

Yang said the hot spell may not end until August 2 when the heat in north China was expected to ease, but the "sauna weather" in south China may linger.

Many on-line postings appealed for a return of the legendary Chinese hero Hou Yi, who saved the earth from being withered under 10 suns by shooting down nine of them.