The thermal comfort of rural residents in China is studied to improve their living conditions and safeguard agricultural development. The present study recruited 30 healthy young people (50% male and 50% female) from rural areas of the hot and humid region of China and exposed them to a wide range of temperatures (20–32°C) and humidities (50% and 70%) in a climate chamber. Both the psychological and physiological responses were observed. The thermal neutral standard effective temperature (SET) was determined to be 26.8°C and the 90% thermal acceptable SET range was 22.9–30.7°C. Mean skin temperature and skin wetness were found to be good predictors for thermal comfort in the neutral-cool and neutral-warm conditions, respectively. When compared with the previous results from similar studies of urban participants living in naturally ventilated buildings, a significant divergence is found. Rural participants reported the same thermal sensation but felt more comfortable and acceptable under identical cool or warm conditions. Rural participants had the same neutral temperature, but a much wider acceptable temperature range. The reason for these differences between rural and urban people may be attributed to differences in local culture, expectations and environmental cognition.

Although extreme heat waves present a significant challenge to urban residents, the elderly in China prefer to go outdoors in summer. Shaded areas in parks may offer an ideal space for their outdoor activities. To assess the thermal adaptation of the elderly in open spaces during periods of high temperature, this study conducted an on-site test and survey for two groups, the elderly (aged 60 and above) and the non-elderly (aged below 60), in a park with tree-shaded areas in China. In total, 557 valid samples were collected, including microclimate parameters, visiting patterns, and subjective responses. Statistical analysis showed that the temperature-related parameters in shaded areas were significantly lower than those in open spaces. Among the elderly, 47.5% visited the park daily, and 33.6% chose to go out even when the temperature reached 36.8 ± 2.6 °C. The thermal sensitivity of the elderly was significantly lower than that of the non-elderly. Both groups showed a high level of thermal acceptability at elevated temperatures with no significant difference. For the elderly, the standard effective temperature was 32.4 °C for 80% thermal acceptability, and 25.7 °C for 90% acceptability. The high acceptability might be attributed to psychological adaptation driven by their willingness for outdoor activities.