Commanding the thousands of vehicles to the rhythm of the traffic lights each morning in downtown Nanjing is one cool lady. But in her hi-vis, fluorescent-green uniform, this is a picture of authority that also brings a feminine touch to the job.
Although they seem ordinary, these largely-uncelebrated folks keep every corner of our city ticking over just so. But now, these are also the people who are the focus of a new series of promotional videos entitled “Extraordinary You” (了不起的你). Hero of newly-released Episode 4 is motorbike cop, Feng Yiwen (冯逸雯).
The epitome of cool with the roaring engine of her police motorcycle, sunglasses and riding gear, Feng is just 26. An officer in the Nanjing Public Security Bureau Traffic Police Team 2, Feng is the youngest in Nanjing’s first female police motorbike squad.
“365 days, whether it is hot or cold, we get up at 5:30 each morning”, said Feng in a report published by the Yangtze Evening News. “It is painful for the post-90s to get up early every day”, she added.
The women’s police motorbike squad was established in the knowledge that there are many places in the city which are difficult for the police to access by car. Bikes can get to the scene faster. Feng rides an average of 40 kilometres each day, equivalent to a five or six times around the streets and alleyways of Xinjiekou.
And that’s after she’s finished keeping the morning rush hour in order, often standing in the intersection of Zhongshan Nan Lu and Shigu Lu/Huaihai Lu.
Feng has been in the motorbike squad for 5 years, meaning that recently it came time for her to move on from her little police moped, to a more heavy-duty two wheeler. Describing it as “five times heavier than a locomotive”, Feng nevertheless had no choice but to try tame the beast.
“We were very excited when we saw these motorcycles”, said Feng. “And we thought it was a cool thing, but then we got pretty scared when we got on them”. And as can be seen in the video, she promptly fell off.
Looking cool is the nice part of the job. But police work also eventually puts the officers in harm’s way. In this episode of Extraordinary You are two clips of footage from Feng’s body cam showing her falling to the ground in pursuit of a suspect, in 2019 and 2020.
Feng Yiwen’s boyfriend is also with the police; they got to know each other through work. Coincidentally, the day the video was shot was the day the two of them went to pick their wedding rings. It was also the first time they had got together in 2021 during the day, because of clashes in their working shifts.
“Standing for long period during the rush hour means I often get hungry; I worry about hypoglycemia”, Feng said. “That’s when I pop a sweetie in my mouth.”
See Feng in action in Extraordinary You via this link.
