Shanghai residents escape the heat of summer at the Playa Maya Water Park. Photo provided to China Daily

Want to whoosh from the top of a Maya pyramid into a shark tank in Dubai?

(Who wouldn't?)

Or, splash down a waterslide jutting from a Boeing 747 in the United States? Or, from a cliff in Italy?

How about conquering a 400-meter waterslide coiled through a Costa Rican jungle that's so intense attendants provide leather "diapers"?

(Who would?)

Perhaps zip through a waterslide wormhole that simulates zapping through space-time tunnels?

The heat is on in August. It's time to get wet.

But not all water parks are created equal.

So, China Daily explores the most extreme places to splash through in summer vacation's final days.

Aquaventure

This is where you gush 18 meters down the side of a replica Maya pyramid－and then through a clear tunnel running through a shark tank on Dubai's man-made island that's built to look like a palm tree reportedly visible from space.

Really.

There are seven slides in the park built on 700 meters of Arabian Gulf beach. The park is a hot-ticket itinerary item, since August averages 43 C in Dubai.