Officers stationed at airport for pandemic control don't have it easy
-
Hu Dongxiao gets ready to go to his post at Shanghai Pudong International Airport.
Credit: Ti Gong -
Hu Dongxiao works with his colleagues from Huangpu police to register people off the flights and transport them to their quarantine spots.
Credit: Ti Gong -
Hu Dongxiao works with his colleagues from Huangpu police to register people off the flights and transport them to their quarantine spots.
Credit: Ti Gong -
Hu Dongxiao works in his office at Ruijin Road No. 2 Police Station.
Credit: Ti Gong
Shanghai Pudong International Airport has been home for Hu Dongxiao, a 31-year-old police officer from the Ruijin Road No. 2 Police Station in Huangpu District, for almost half of the entire year.
Since the end of March last year, Hu has been on a team of police officers from Huangpu at the airport who are tasked with registering and transferring people who are residents of the district from flights to quarantine locations.
After their flights arrive at the airport, the tourists are first given quarantine checks, and after two or three hours they will find themselves in front of police officers from the district where they reside.
Hu and his colleagues' job is to make sure that these people are registered and transported to hotels for quarantine. People with special needs who require in-home quarantine are sent home.
"It was very hectic when we started out, but now people are more understanding and cooperative," Hu said. "We have become familiar with people who often travel abroad."
Previously, Hu worked for 14 days at the airport and spent the next 14 days in a hotel for quarantine, and then began the cycle again. Beginning this summer, Hu has been able to spend half of the 14-day quarantine at home.
"Working and staying indoors for months was really challenging for people's mental health," he said. "The new working and quarantine schedule is a great improvement in our working conditions."
Hu and his colleagues work in two 12-hour shifts. The last batch of tourists usually comes in between 2am and 3am. About a dozen officers work together for a 14-day period.
Now, they register 20 to 30 people every day, but the month before the Chinese New Year, which is next month, will be busier, Hu said.
Hu, who married his fiancée last year, said his current job sets him and his wife apart so much that his wife now plans to raise a cat at home to accompany her.
"In Chinese, we say that short goodbyes make two lovers closer, but I have started to think we have had too many short goodbyes," Hu said across a smile. "I didn't expect that the pandemic would last for so long, but I will stay devoted to my job."
Hu is the person in charge of the team of police officers from Huangpu at the airport implementing pandemic control measures.
Their job doesn't stop there. Recently, the officers have begun to take the opportunity to remind the returning people to beware of telecom and Internet fraud. Shanghai police are campaigning around the city to increase awareness of such frauds which sometimes result in huge losses of money for citizens.
In Case You Missed It...
Sep 13, 2026
