Those who guard the Forbidden City

Two local policemen patrol the Forbidden City in January in 2015. [Photo/CFP]

The Palace Museum police station, which is responsible for the security and order of the Forbidden City, is located at a compound in the northeast corner of the ancient palace.

The biggest challenge that the local police face is crowd control because as many as 200,000 tourists visit the historic place in one day during the peak season from April to October.

"This means each of our policemen needs to deal with more than 10,000 people in one day on average," said Liu Guanghe, head of the police station.

Local police also need to regulate scalpers and unlicensed tour guides and peddlers and sometimes serve as tour guides to answer inquiries from visitors from home and abroad.