August is the hottest month in Chongqing, a municipality located roughly 700 miles from the ocean. Last month the temperature peaked at about 106 degrees — some 15 degrees higher than the average temperature for the same day in previous years — which suggests why the city is known as one of China’s “three great furnaces.” The humidity, which often reaches 80 percent, helps explain its designation as “the fog capital.” For almost a decade, Chongqing’s economy has been one of the fastest growing among China’s major municipalities. The closest respite for local families is a 16-acre Caribbean- and Mayan-themed water park, built on Nashan Mountain. On a summer day, more than 13,000 day-trippers and vacationers from Chengdu to Guang’an might visit the attraction, most of which is underwater or within the range of hoses and sprinklers. Picnic tables are built into shallow pools for games of Chinese chess and mah-jongg; musical acts perform on the water stage. The most popular spot is a wave pool that produces eight different kinds of swells. Deng Xingkai, who is 32 and owns a hot-pot restaurant in Chongqing, describes the wave pool as like swimming in a real ocean — and the best chance for a family outing. “My child rarely gets a chance to go on a vacation with us,” he says. “We are too busy with the restaurant business. We don’t have weekends, and we have to work on public holidays too. But you have to make a living, right?” J.L.

8月是重庆最热的月份，这个内陆城市离大海约有700英里(约合1100公里)的距离。上月，该市气温最高达到大约106华氏度(约合41.1摄氏度)，比此前一些年同一天的平均温度高出了大约15华氏度。这解释了这座城市为何被称作中国“三大火炉”之一。常常高达80%的湿度，则帮助解释了它被称为“雾都”的原因。近十年来，重庆的经济一直属于中国主要城市中增长最快的。距离当地民众最近的大型休闲场所是一个占地16英亩(约合100亩)的加勒比和玛雅主题水上乐园，位于南山。夏季，水上乐园每天可能要接待逾1.3万名一日游游客和来自从成都到广安的游客。乐园大部分地方都位于水下，或在水管和喷水装置附近。浅水区设有野餐桌，供游客下象棋和打麻将用。水上舞台上还有音乐表演。最受欢迎的地方是一个可以产生八种不同浪潮的冲浪池。32岁的邓兴凯(音)在重庆开了一家火锅店。他说，冲浪池就像在真的大海里游泳一样，是家庭出游的最佳选择。“我家孩子很少有机会和我们一起度假，”他说。“餐厅生意太忙了，我们没有周末，法定节假日也要工作。但总得谋生呀，对吧?”J·L。