The record-breaking heat wave during the last few days subsided on Wednesday, allowing people to stop hiding indoors with their air conditioners cranked.

People enjoy the breeze outside a store. [ZOU HONG / CHINA DAILY]

The temperature in Beijing hit a record high of 40.6 degrees Celsius on Monday and 40 Celsius again on Tuesday, so many residents said the cool down was appreciated.

"The heat here is hotter than Zimbabwe," Maruel Karira a Zimbabwean studying in Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) said on Tuesday. "It's like a sauna here."

"You know those sprinklers in the grass? I just want to jump into the water, it's so hot," Alessia Frisina from Italy said on Tuesday. "I'm staying in my room with air conditioning. There isn't much else I can do."

Wednesday's cooler temperature had fewer people complaining.

"It's really better today," said Chris Patuorle, a student at Tsinghua University. "I didn't go outside at all yesterday."

With the weather at a comfortable 29 degrees Celsius, fewer people were hiding in coffee shops and shopping centers to avoid the torrid heat.

Experts had earlier gone as far as warning people to avoid going outside. Richard Saint-Cyr said that while it's unfortunate to be indoors all day, it is the safest thing to do.

Zhou Yin, a marketing communications associate at Raffles City Beijing, said there was a difference in the number of patrons today because of the change in weather.

"More people were in here the past two days," Zhou said Wednesday. "But there are still a lot of people here today, just not as many as yesterday."

Although the heat wave may have helped some restaurants' business by driving more customers indoors, restaurants with a lot of outdoor seating say they are glad the temperatures have dropped.

At the Dongzhimen Starbucks customers sat outside drinking coffee for the first time in days.

"No one was (sitting) outside for a few days," said Cherry Li, a barista at Starbucks. "Today, there are many people outside."

Taxi drivers said their business was positively affected by the heat, with many people who normally walk choosing an air-conditioned ride instead.

Yang De, a Beijing taxi driver, said he had many more costumers than usual during the heat wave.

For China Daily