Writing takes subway cop on a new journey

Difficult interaction

A popular figure in Ma's posts was a worker responsible for maintaining order at Longze Station.

The man, surnamed Wei, who came to the station at about 55 years old, was the subject of frequent complaints by passengers and his peers because he was inflexible at work.

One day, Wei quarreled with a young passenger who was trying to get on the train while wearing roller stakes. Wei would not allow him to take the train, saying it was too dangerous, but the passenger said there was no rule to prohibit it and he had no other shoes to change into.

Going through the subway rules in his mind and confirming that there was no such prohibition, Ma and another colleague helped support the passenger onto the train. He didn't leave the platform until he saw the young man standing firm in the train as the doors closed.

When Ma turned around to talk to Wei, the old worker looked unhappy and he even sulked for a while.

Later, Ma went away to study for a few months. When he returned, he was told that Wei had retired. When he heard the news, Ma breathed a sigh of relief, just like the other station staff members.

Ma said that he thought Wei would enjoy a peaceful retirement, but shortly afterward he learned that the stubborn man had died of an illness.

"Like some passengers, Wei only got on a train from this platform once and never came to the station again," Ma wrote, comparing the older man to people who pass on the subway system, but don't notice each other or care if they exist. "When he worked here, I thought he was rigidly dogmatic. When he was no longer here, I realized how great he was."

As usual, Ma posted the story online. Soon, a netizen's message caught his eye. It said: "Some people's views are behind the times, but they hold the bottom line. I would rather there are more people who take things seriously, even if it can be a little troublesome. I want my child to live in a world where someone seriously tells him that it is not safe to take a subway train while wearing roller skates."

Regular thumbs-up

So far, Ma has posted about 300 metro stories on the internet, gaining more than 400 million views.

He has 260,000 followers on Zhihu and has been given more than 1.45 million thumbs-up. On Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-like platform, he has 670,000 followers and has gained 750,000 thumbs-up.

While continuing to post online, Ma has also compiled his observations of the "underground world" and human life into a book, 10,000 Reasons to Love Life, which was published earlier this year.

"On the one hand, recording and sharing the stories helps netizens to understand the work of the subway police, and on the other hand, it helps me see real life," Ma said.

"I hope more people will feel the power of life behind my posts at their lowest points."

Now, he receives many messages from netizens daily. Some talk about the interesting things they have seen during their commute, while others share their feelings of attraction to other people in the subway.

"Fighting hard, violent crime is a good police value, but it's also good to be integrated with these trivial things underground and help solve them quickly," Ma said.

Contact the writer at caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn