Great Heat, one of the 12th solar terms, occurred on July 23. Bearing nearly 10 jin (5kg) of police equipment, being on duty for more than six hours on the road and “standing at high temperatures” in the extreme heat of every summer are exactly the routine work of front-line traffic policemen. The reporter experienced the challenging work at high temperatures together with Jin Haibo and his apprentice Ren Cihang from Yangpu Traffic Police Division.

　　Called out seven times within three hours

　　“Copy that! I’ll be there right now.” From 7:00 a.m., Jin already started his busy work at the crossing of Changhai Road and Guohe Road which he takes charge of. “Never thought that my clothes would be dry after a day’s work,” said Jin.

　　Jungong Road Xiangyin Road, Shiguang Road Yingao Road (E)……Jin visited six scenes whole morning. “On these two days, I work almost all the time except mealtimes. Sometimes, I have to leave midst a meal if there is a call.”

　　Changhai Road, which Jin takes charge of, has long been a challenge facing traffic regulation as two 3A hospitals such as Changhai Hospital and Oriental Hepatobiliary Hospital perch on the road. On that day, Jin treated a number of illegal cases where non-motorized vehicles occupied vehicle lanes. Some objects of law enforcement actively cooperated with Jin’s work while some behaved inimically, but Jin always acted calmly and patiently. He told the reporter that citizens involved tended to react fierily to the management of traffic violations and accidents in summers. From his 25 years of police work, Jin summed up some experience, for instance, beginning with “Please be calm and let’s do it step by step as required by the procedure”, being polite, sober and reasonable, so as to calm citizens concerned down and then facilitate the police work.

　　As noon approached, the reporter finished the interview, when Jin received another instruction and immediately rushed to the next scene……

　　Forgetting to rest for busy work

　　“Turn the steering wheel to the right and go straight on slowly!” At around 10:30 a.m., Ren Cihang and Zhu Licheng, policemen of Yangpu District, were directing a white SUV to drive forward slowly at the crossing of Huangxing Road and Songhuajiang Road. That’s because a stray cat got under the car and fearing hurting the cat, the female driver was too nervous to drive. One policeman lay on his stomach to see where the cat was and the other gave instructions in front of the car. Then in a little while the car drove away. The policemen quickly took the cat away from the road and the traffic there returned to normal at once.

　　Five years ago, the new policeman Ren Cihang became apprenticed to Jin Haibo. “He works too hard!” Ren expressed sincere admiration for Jin. In his work, Ren has been following Jin’s example and been strict with himself.

　　As the main ramp entrance to the Elevated Inner Ring Road connecting Puxi and Pudong, Huangxing Road Songhuajiang Road features a dense traffic flow. With the arrival of days of high temperatures, the traffic at the crossing is facing a tougher test. To deal with this, Tactical Unit of Yangpu Traffic Police Division dispatched a “Tiger Team” composed of young traffic policemen there.

　　Under the blazing sun, there are no shelters at the crossing. Ren and members of the “Tiger Team” kept turning around, running and whistling to maintain order at the crossing. Ren told the reporter, traffic police were allowed to have a break of only 15 min during the morning rush hour, but often forgot to rest as they were too busy. Averagely, Ren and his colleagues each had to deal with about 50 traffic violations all morning.

　　Policeman uniform soaked in sweat, face and neck tanned, the sole of shoes even slightly melted by the hot pavement……the way how front-line policemen silently stick to their posts has become a dramatic summer landscape in the city.