China News Service, Guangzhou, Oct. 13 (Suo Youwei, He Liping, Pan Guitian) The ninth day of the ninth lunar month is China’s traditional Chongyang Festival, during which over 100,000 Guangzhou residents went to Baiyun Mountain to hike and pray for blessings. To assist the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau in maintaining order during the Baiyun Mountain hiking event, the Guangdong Provincial Corps of the People’s Armed Police deployed nearly 1,000 officers to undertake the tasks of maintaining order and ensuring on-site security.
To successfully accomplish the security mission, the Guangdong Corps of the People’s Armed Police held a special meeting for meticulous deployment; personnel from the operations department conducted on-site surveys and carefully formulated joint response plans for major incidents such as large-scale crowd crushes and stampedes, detailing troop deployment, communication coordination, and coordinated response methods. Temporary squads, platoons, and companies were established to carry out targeted training and drills to enhance overall coordination. A dedicated emergency response team was also set up, equipped with corresponding emergency, medical, and firefighting gear to ensure rapid handling of any situation.
During the event, the officers on duty worked with police officers to maintain order among hikers, promptly managing and directing the flow of people, intensifying patrols at various sections and scenic spots, and conducting safety education and publicity among the hikers. The hikers complied with regulations, followed instructions, and order was well maintained at all hiking sites, with good public security throughout the scene.
“By keeping real-time track of developments at each post and closely coordinating with all participating units, we effectively prevented incidents such as crowd crushes, visitor injuries, and forest fires, ensuring the personal safety of the public,” a combat commander from the Guangzhou detachment told reporters.
“Alone, a lonely stranger in a strange land, I doubly pine for my kinsfolk on holiday.” Among the officers on duty were those who had participated in the Baiyun Mountain hiking security mission for eight consecutive years, as well as those on their first assignment. Though unable to spend the festival with their families, watching residents hike and enjoy the day with their loved ones brought the officers indescribable joy and happiness, and they offered blessings for both the public and their own families.
As of press time, no major public security, criminal, forest fire, or other natural disaster incidents—or crowd stampedes—had occurred at any of the densely populated hiking spots, and the armed police officers on duty remained at their posts.