Speaking fluent English during a routine traffic stop in Shanghai’s Jing’an district propelled a 23-year-old Chinese police officer to online prominence after video footage of the Nov 5 encounter circulated widely across social media.
The incident took place around 10pm when Xu Yichao, an officer with the Jing’an district traffic police, stopped a woman riding an electric bicycle with an adult passenger, The Straits Times reported. The practice violates Shanghai’s non-motor vehicle regulations, which prohibit cyclists from carrying passengers over the age of 12.
After stopping the pair and discovering they were tourists from Thailand who did not speak Chinese, Xu switched to English to explain local traffic rules and provide safety education.
“Once I stopped the vehicle and identified myself, they spoke a few words in English, so I immediately conducted the enforcement procedure in English,” Xu recalled.
Because it was a first-time offense that caused minimal harm and was promptly corrected, Xu issued a written warning under the Administrative Penalty Law and local regulations governing non-motor vehicles. Video of the exchange drew praise from netizens for Xu’s professional manner and language skills.
“I’ve never studied abroad. I was just interested in English from an early age, including foreign films and TV series,” Xu said.
“I have a habit of imitating dialogue from TV shows to practice pronunciation and intonation,” Xu added.
His capabilities also stem from targeted training at the police academy, where he completed compulsory English courses covering public security, criminal justice, and traffic enforcement. After joining the Jing’an branch, he received additional instruction for handling cases involving foreign nationals.
“Our detachment holds regular training to sharpen front-line officers’ bilingual enforcement skills,” Xu said.
“We also review case studies from other districts to master technical terminology and learn how traffic violations are defined internationally, ensuring our enforcement remains standardised,” he explained.
Xu’s detachment patrols the busy intersection of Middle Yan’an Road and Huashan Road in a major commercial hub, where officers born in the 2000s now form the squad’s backbone. Colleague Tang Qixin said that using English on duty has become routine.
“We encounter international visitors frequently on our patrols, and virtually everyone on the team can handle routine enforcement in English,” Tang said.
“During law enforcement, we ensure there are laws to follow, laws are observed and strictly enforced, and violations are prosecuted – a principle applied equally to everyone, including foreign tourists,” Tang added.
Li Xiaochun, an official with the traffic police corps of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, said that the viral encounter reflects the city’s broader push to combine strict law enforcement with accessible public services.
“In recent years, we have promoted strict law enforcement and established regular training mechanisms,” Li said.
“Our goal is to integrate standardised enforcement with public legal education, demonstrating both the authority and the warmth of the law,” Li added.
These municipal efforts coincide with a sharp rise in inbound tourism. The municipal culture and tourism bureau reported that Shanghai welcomed 5.31 million overseas visitors in the first half of 2026, marking a 27.82% increase year-on-year, with South Korea, Russia, the United States, Thailand, and Malaysia as the top five source markets.
In the first eight months of 2026, inbound arrivals reached nearly 7.06 million, representing a 27.8% increase from the same period in 2025.
For Xu, the digital attention remains secondary to day-to-day operations.
“We handle hundreds of violations a day, so this was simply routine,” he said.
“Still, if the video helps raise awareness of Shanghai’s traffic laws among international visitors, it serves as meaningful public outreach,” Xu added.
