"You have received a new call for police," blares an alert from a loudspeaker in the hall of Pozijie Police Station in Changsha, Hunan province, where Wu works.

As the night wears on, the calls for police increase, she said. The police station is situated in the city's most popular business, shopping and recreational center, which is home to around 500 bars, karaoke venues and hotels.

Although the area only has around 99,000 permanent residents, the daily number of visitors can reach 430,000. During holidays, the number can swell to 1 million to 2 million a day.

The central location of the police station and the large number of bizarre cases it handles are two of the major reasons The Guardians of Jiefangxi, a documentary series that centers on the daily lives of police officers, has captured the imagination of hordes of young viewers.Since first airing in 2019, the series has become an internet sensation.

Produced by TVZone Media and Chinese online video-sharing platform Bilibili, the series, which is in its fifth season, has garnered 1.4 billion views on Bilibili. On the popular review site Douban, on a scale of 10, it has received scores ranging from 8.2 to 9.0 over the five seasons.

Wu said the police station receives around 100 to 200 calls every day, which is almost 10 times the number of calls for a regular station in Changsha.

"Sometimes, when I hear the alerts I have a mini mental breakdown. The calls never stop, especially late at night," she said. "The police station becomes a crowded supermarket in the early hours of the morning. It requires us to work under immense pressure."

The documentary has turned the busy police station into a tourist attraction, with people coming from across the country, and even the world, to take photos on its doorstep.

Yang Zhenzheng, a Beijing resident, watches the documentary series every Friday and has become an avid fan. He visited the station recently to tick it off his Changsha bucketlist. Yang took photos with the station in the background and said it was like seeing a TV icon in person.

However, police are wary of the intrusiveness of the tourists. They have turned off the loudspeaker to remind people to be civilized when taking photos and videos, said station head Shen Jiulin, as some of the uncooperative tourists get overexcited and do not follow police advice.

Shen is a fixture in the documentary series. He appears at the end of each episode to explain laws and regulations the suspects have violated, and reminds viewers to learn from the perpetrators' mistakes.

"What we want people to get from the series is that they can gain knowledge of the law through a more entertaining format, so they are reminded to not repeat other's mistakes," he said.

The police station received more than 25,000 calls last year, with the highest number 215 in a single day. The station only has about 130 officers and assistants, and is severely understaffed, Shen said.They are unable to take a work break on Saturdays, and it is not guaranteed that they can do so on Sundays, he added.

Despite the pressures, the hectic work has also enabled officers to grow quickly into their roles. Pozijie Police Station has become the "gold standard" among all police stations in the city, Shen said, with the sense of pride in working there reaffirming officers' determination to succeed in the profession. There are also more promotion opportunities at the station, he added.

Due to the popularity of the series, the station's police officers have become used to carrying out law enforcement activities under close public scrutiny, Shen said.

"Compared with other types of police, the work of officers at grassroots police stations is fundamental, yet complicated and comprehensive. Without their dedication, the overall environment for public security cannot be good," he said.

Wu said due to the shortage of police officers, she sometimes has to take the lead in handling dangerous situations.

"I was also somewhat scared, and I needed to be smart so the man would not hurt anyone else at the scene."She finally handcuffed the man with the help of security staff from a nearby shopping mall, she said.

Officer Ding Weike, 24, said dealing with drunks is one of the most common duties for police officers at the station as the area has a lot of bars.There are all kinds of disputes and fighting. People behave irrationally after getting drunk and sometimes they even attack police, so it is important officers learn how to defend themselves, he said.

"I usually restrain suspects when I sense that they are about to attack me or others," he said."However, that is not to say that we are under attack all the time. Generally speaking, police officers are well-respected and loved by the people, thanks to the dedicated work of countless officers around the country."