Scorching sunshine and hot temperatures may return to Shanghai tomorrow as the rain belt that brought frequent showers over the weekend is expected to move out of the city today, meteorologists said yesterday.

Today's high will be 30 degrees Celsius with the low 25 degrees, the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau said.

With meteorologists predicting that a warm and dry air mass will visit the city, the high is likely to be 34 degrees tomorrow.

Residents may even have to endure a 35-degree heat wave on Wednesday and Thursday.

The onset of the scorching summer, however, has brought about some changes though one aspect has surprisingly remained the same.

The heatwave has not affected business at hotpot restaurants throughout the city even though the peppery specialty food of southwest China's Sichuan Province used to be considered an antidote for the cold, Xinhua news agency reported.

It has become a new fashion for Shanghai people to enjoy hot food in chilly air-conditioned rooms, forcing hotpot restaurants to continuously introduce new dishes, even in summer.

As busy as the hotpot restaurants are the city's swimming pools, which are crowded with people who want to exercise while escaping the scorching sun.

The muggy weather is also influencing fashion trends. The most trendy dress for a Shanghai girl this summer is a cropped vest and low-waisted trousers.

It seems that most people want to enjoy the hot weather but for students who are working towards their future, the sweltering days are no excuse for stopping their studies.

Zhang Yi, a sophomore at the Shanghai International Studies University, chose to spend the summer attending a preparatory class for the Graduate Record Examina-tions, the graduate entrance examination for the U.S.

( eastday.com July 22, 2002)