A foreign visitor uses a mini-fan in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province. (File Photo: IC)

Figures from AliExpress, Alibaba's cross-border online shopping platform, show that sales of fans doubled from April to May, and then more than doubled again in June.

On the first day of July, sales of fans in France by AliExpress were up 1, 000 percent over last year.

Fans were the most searched for item on AliExpress in June, the month which beat 2016 for the hottest June since records began in 1880, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Mini-fans, portable fans, and solar-powered fans are popular with buyers in France, the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium, according to online searches recorded by Alibaba.

An influx of positive reviews from customers shows they're grateful for the relief from the heat.