A public air-raid shelters in Hangzhou which can provide coolness to nearby residents. [Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

With scorching heat waves sweeping across China, cities in East China's Zhejiang have adopted a batch of measures to provide more cooling places to residents.

On Wednesday, Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang, issued its first red alert for high temperatures with the highest temperature at noon exceeding 39 degrees.

Since late June, the city has gradually opened multiple free cool spots for citizens to seek relief from the scorching weather, including subway stations and air-raid shelters.

Starting from Monday, the Hangzhou Metro has set up special areas for citizens to avoid the summer heat at its stations. These areas, located alongside seven subway lines with an additional two lines currently in the planning stages, were designed to offer cooling spaces for residents who live near these station.

Aside from this, the city has also opened six air-raid shelters to the public, which will be open to residents for nine hours each day over the next two months.

A public air-raid shelter in Hangzhou which can provide coolness to nearby residents. [Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Temperatures inside these shelters, which have a combined holding capacity of 2,000 people, can be 10 degrees lower than the outside, luring residents and tourists to flock in for relief.

Inside the air-raid shelters, one can find daily necessities such as water, electricity, tables, chairs and free WiFi, as well as heatstroke prevention medicine and other essential supplies.

"I came here with my friends and this is a perfect place for reading books during summer time," said Wang Yitin, a post-graduate student in Hangzhou who is staying at a shelter at the Shiwukui alley located around the West Lake.

In addition to Hangzhou, other cities in Zhejiang such as Taizhou, Lishui and Zhuji have also opened such shelters to the public.