Luohe was not built overnight. The X generation will not likely tell you that, but Gao Feng knows firsthand how it has changed from 20 years ago.

The Xuchang native was 31 years old when he first came to Luohe in October 1986, the year it became a prefecture-level city. A police officer of seven years, he traveled from nearby Pingdingshan on an old bus. Although his expectations were low, Gao was still shocked by Luohe's cobblestone roads and dusty paths, as well as the livestock that wandered freely on them.

Even today, the city's deputy police chief can hardly imagine how it has developed over the years.

"I can remember it so vividly," said Gao, who became a grandfather six month ago. "There was no downtown then - the mule-horse market was the place to be. I asked where the police station was, and nobody knew."

When he finally did manage to find it, there was not enough room in the dormitory. Gao had to stay outside the city for two months until his accommodation could be settled.

He and his 32 colleagues watched as massive road construction projects began the following year. But still, it was not until the autumn of 1988 that the station bought its first motorcycle to go with the three outdated cars and the old bicycles used to transport the officers.

"Despite its recent success, Luohe's overall development has been a difficult process, since more than 70 percent of the population resides in rural areas," Gao said. When he arrived 20 years ago, everywhere he visited was "dirty", and police work, by and large carried out during bike visits to factories, schools and the countryside, constantly encountered obstacles.

Today, Luohe is among the safest and cleanest of all provincial cities, and perhaps soon nationally too, as city administrators confidently envision. Youngsters, including the many rookie officers among the now 1,800-strong police force, respond to that image as they go about their daily tasks.

But, it is local veterans like Gao who have devoted their time and effort here, that truly know about Luohe's gradual evolution from its embryonic, unsettling past to a full-fledged, harmonious city.

"I love this city and I love my job, though it's demanding," Gao said. "This is just a great place to be."

(China Daily 10/19/2007 page26)