"The only difference between me and grilled meat is some seasoning," one netizen wrote.

"The hospital diagnosed me with third-degree burns after I accidentally fell onto the road today on my way to work," another wrote, mocking an alert about scorching asphalt roads.

Ruth Baru, a media correspondent from Kenya, said the heat in Beijing reminds her of her hometown, Nairobi.

"It's very hot, but I can deal with it," she said, adding that she often works outdoors, so she's fairly used to the heat.

Sunday marked Beijing's hottest day of the year, with the highest temperature recorded at 40.2 degrees Celsius in Shunyi District.

People have tried to chill out with jokes and funny images, but their efforts have done little to really beat the heat.

As of Tuesday, over ten people in Shanghai have died of heatstroke, according to the Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

In Zhejiang Province, where temperatures have risen over 40 degrees Celsius, cities such as Jinhua and Wenzhou opened air-raid shelters for residents, and people have been swarming into air-conditioned libraries and subway stations to escape the heat.

ECONOMIC EFFECTS

The heat sweeping most parts of the country isn't just making people sweat -- it's also affecting the economy.

Residents are more likely to buy summer products, such as air conditioners and refrigerators, to replace their current ones, stimulating consumption of electric appliances, said Liao Xinyu, an analyst with UBS Securities.