Heat-beating gadgets selling like hot cakes

According to Taobao, there were 1.5 million quirky cooling-product orders in June, twice the number seen a year earlier. The platform predicted that as temperatures rise, 30,000 more orders will be added for every extra degree.

Buyers of such products are mainly concentrated in the country's north, central and southeast, as these regions have been the most plagued by heat waves so far this year, Taobao said.

Despite the recent Typhoon Ampil and torrential downpours that usually bring respite from the heat, many regions have seen temperatures hover over 35 C in the last few weeks.

On Wednesday, the National Meteorological Center renewed its yellow alert, the lowest level in a three-tier warning system for high temperatures. It was the 12th heat warning since July 14.