CHONGQING – China’s Chongqing on July 5 opened 44 underground civil defence shelters as public cooling centres across its 11 districts, offering residents a free and unique escape from the sweltering summer heat.

Known as one of China’s “four furnaces”, the south-western municipality frequently experiences temperatures above 40 deg C.

According to the Chongqing National Defence Mobilisation Office, the cooling centres cover a total area of more than 11,000 sq m, and operate daily from 10am to 9pm.

Each site is equipped with desks, chairs, drinking water and heatstroke prevention medicine. Staff are on duty to oversee safety and assist visitors.

Originally built into the city’s hillsides as air raid shelters during World War II, the office began repurposing these facilities into cooling spaces in 2002.

The public welfare project has received 26.3 million visits so far, according to official statistics.

On July 6, the Chongqing Meteorological Bureau issued its first orange alert for high temperatures this sum...