[Only In SH] What Summer Was Like in Shanghai Before Air Conditioning

Editor's Note

Everyone knows the Bund. Fewer people know the sound of mahjong echoing through a Shanghai lane at dusk.

This Only In SH series explores the side of Shanghai that often escapes travel guides – the old alleyways, neighborhood eateries, fading shop signs, strange local habits, forgotten stories and everyday rituals that continue to shape the city beneath its modern image.

What did summer feel like in old Shanghai, before air conditioners hummed in every apartment and iced coffee arrived with the tap of a screen?

It tasted like watermelon lowered into a well to chill. It smelled like white magnolias pinned to a qipao. It sounded like the cry of a popsicle vendor drifting through the lanes and the soft flap of bamboo fans after dinner. And it felt like an entire neighborhood gathering outside to catch the evening breeze.

When the Whole City Waited for Sunset

Summer days in Shanghai were famously sticky. Concrete radiated heat. Mosquitoes hovered in the corners. Shirts clung to backs before breakfast. But when the sun began to set, the city exhaled.

After dinner, families carried bamboo loungers, folding chairs, and woven mats to the lane, the sidewalk, or the shaded edge of a small street. Men in undershirts fanned themselves. Women chatted with neighbors. Children chased each other between the chairs.

The alley became a shared living room, and the night belonged to everyone.

The City's Natural Air Conditioning

Old Shanghai also had its own science of staying cool.

In Shikumen houses, thick brick walls, high ceilings, and open courtyards helped air move through the rooms. Some architecture researchers have even described the traditional Shikumen layout as a kind of natural cooling system.

The courtyard was especially important. As hot air rose from the open space, cooler air moved in from the surrounding rooms, creating a gentle circulation that made the house feel more breathable in the summer.

Outside the home, people also knew where to find the best breeze. Around famous high-rise buildings such as Park Hotel and Shanghai No. 1 Department Store, passing air currents created what locals called "wind spots." On the hottest evenings, getting a good place there was almost like finding free air conditioning.

And before the chairs came out, there was another small summer trick: well water splashed over the sun-baked cement ground. The moment the cold water hit the pavement, it gave a sharp hiss and sent up a small cloud of steam. Then the ground cooled, the stools came out, and another Shanghai summer night began.

The Sweetest Sound of Summer

Few sounds were more exciting to Shanghai children than the call of the popsicle vendor.

For just a few fen, they could buy a simple ice pop in flavors like mung bean, red bean, or salty soda. For those lucky enough to have a little more pocket money, there were richer treats such as Bright ice cream and the beloved doll-shaped popsicles.

It was a small luxury, but on a sweltering day, it felt unforgettable.

Watermelon from the Well

Before refrigerators became common, Shanghainese had their own way of keeping cool.

Watermelons and bottled drinks were lowered into wells or soaked in buckets of cold water until they were refreshingly chilled. A slice of well-cooled watermelon on a summer afternoon was one of the season's simplest pleasures.

Sometimes residents also splashed water onto sun-baked pavement, sending up a brief mist and a welcome touch of coolness.

White Champaca and Cooling Powder

Summer in Shanghai also had a signature scent.

On street corners, flower sellers, usually elderly women, carried small baskets of white champaca, known locally as "Bai Lan Hua (白兰花)." The blossoms were often threaded together with fine wire and worn on dresses or tucked near the collar.

Fresh from a bath, children were dusted with cooling powder and dabbed with traditional Shanghainese floral water "Hua Lu Shui (花露水)" before joining the adults outside.

Together, the scent of white champaca, talcum, and summer night air became part of the city's seasonal memory.

Cooling Off, Shanghai Style

Summer eating came with its own traditions.

Cold noodles dressed with sesame sauce, cold wontons and sweet green bean soup appeared across the city. Some families added lotus seeds and lily bulbs to their green bean soup for an extra refreshing touch.

These were not elaborate dishes, but they were exactly what the weather called for.

A Simpler Kind of Luxury

Today, Shanghai summers are quieter behind closed windows and air-conditioned glass.

But for many locals, the most vivid memories are still those of evenings spent outdoors with neighbors, the scent of white champaca in the air, and the anticipation of a four-fen popsicle.

It was not an especially comfortable way to live by modern standards.

Yet it offered something the city still values deeply: the ability to turn ordinary moments into lasting memories.

What does summer in your hometown smell and sound like?