Russian man becomes 'chengguan' officer for a day

A young man from Vladivostok, Russia runs a restaurant with his friend in Changzhou, Jiangsu province. Before Spring Festival this year, he promoted his pastries in the street by offering free cakes to passersby. But local chengguan, or urban management officers, called a halt to his promotion shortly after it began.

In an interview, the Russian man, Mike, indicated his interest in urban management work, even saying he would like to try out the job of an urban management officer because there is no such management force in Russia.

"Police are responsible for a city’s appearance and environment," he explained.

Mike got his wish, beginning his day as a chengguan at 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 20. On a street dotted with shops selling Buddhism-related products, he noticed that one shop owner had piled her products on the sidewalk in front of her shop. Mike tried to communicate with the owner, asking her to remove the products from the sidewalk. His fluent Chinese surprised Ms. Huang, the owner of the shop. He told her that setting up a stall on the sidewalk is forbidden, as it can "affect the appearance of the street." However, Ms. Huang argued that other shops also set out their products this way, and it does not affect pedestrians. In the end, Mike convinced her to carry her wares back inside.

At 11 a.m., Mike and his colleagues caught two young men distributing flyers in Tianningsi Square. The men were apparently frightened by Mike, who is 1.91 meters tall. He told the men that distributing flyers in that spot was forbidden. After spending a few minutes explaining the problem, the violators left the square quickly. Mike's ability to enforce the law won praise from several locals.

“I have never seen a foreign chengguan before. He did pretty well,” one onlooker admitted.

At 11: 30 am, the Russian man's half-day experience drew to an end. He reflected that the life of a chengguan contains both fun and bitterness, and that urban management work requires a certain kind of wisdom.

“I have been to many places around the world. Changzhou is very tidy, and cleaner than many big cities. It is suitable for living. All these traits must be credited to the hard work of my chengguan colleagues.”