Chapter X / In which Shanghai turns up the heat

From the Shanghai Daily on the morning of my departure:

"Shanghai has never seen four straight days with highs topping 40 degrees since 1873, when its Xujiahui observatory began recording temperatures, according to the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau." 

They went on to note "it was the eighth high temperature day this month" though it was not clear what temperatures qualify as 'high'. This contributed to a number of anomalies during my visit. The normally-busy Shanghai Sightseeing Bus Center apparently reported a big drop in passengers. The normally-popular tourist promenade along the Bund was empty. The normally-full parking lot was apparently empty. Even the normally-cool Marc Jacobs perfume pop-up next to the beautiful Jing'an Temple was apparently too hot to handle: