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Vicky Feng

As the heat wave continues to scorch southern China, people have been finding creative ways to cope with the hot weather. A recent innovation is playing mahjong - underwater.
Four divers in China’s Hunan province, where temperatures soared to 41 degrees Celsius last weekend, played the popular Chinese game at the bottom of a swimming pool to cool themselves off. 
“Playing mahjong underwater is for fun, and the real reason is to feel cool,” Zhang Pin, one of the divers in Xiangtan city, told Changsha Wanbao, a local newspaper.  
Watch how the divers play mahjong underwater

In water 5.5-metres deep, the temperature was apparently as low as 24 degrees Celsius and very cool, added Zhang, according to the paper.
Dressed in swim suits and equipped with underwater breathing apparatuses, divers had to use gestures to communicate. Signs also helped to keep the game going.
The table and mahjongs used were made of heavy materials in order to remain still under water. 
Most of Chinese netizens were enthusiastic about such an original way to playing mahjong. “I wonder if anyone won,” joked one Weibo user.
But one person asked whether it was just a publicity exercise. “Look at the advertisement pasted on the table. Obviously, it’s just a stunt,” the netizen exclaimed.


Hunan divers play mahjong underwater to cool off 

Hunan divers play Mahjong underwater. Photo: Screenshot from Sina

Chinese find creative ways to cool off as heatwave continues

Visitors trying to escape the summer heat swim in an artificial wave pool at a tourist resort in Daying county, Suining. Photo: Reuters

Children cool off in a fountain in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang province. Photo: Xinhua

Citizens shield themselves from the sun in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang province. Photo: Xinhua

People without air conditioning in Shanghai sleep on running machines in a supermarket. Photo: Screenshot from Weibo

Eastern China scorched by record heatwave

Cyclists in Hangzhou have been forced to come up with various protective measures for shade. Temperatures surpassed 40 degrees for the second consecutive day yesterday. Photo: Imaginechina.

Meat fries on Shanghai pavement as temperatures soar to record highs

A boy cools off in a fountain at a park in Shanghai. Hot weather has set in with temperatures rising up to 40 degrees Celsius in Shanghai. Photo: AP

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China Insider

Netizens admire novel new way of coping with China’s heat wave


Hunan divers play mahjong underwater to cool off

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Netizens admire novel new way of coping with China’s heat wave

Netizens admire novel new way of coping with China’s heat wave