Police officer pioneered Beijing traffic solutions

Dong Yijun (fourth from right) working in the field in Beijing. China Daily

In Beijing, traffic is often measured by numbers denoting everything from vehicle volume to peak-hour speeds and signal cycles. But for Dong Yijun, footsteps became the measure of choice.

Over a 36-year policing career, Dong, later deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau and head of its traffic management bureau, built a reputation for solving complex urban problems by literally starting from the ground up. He walked congested bridges late at night, traced neighborhood alleys on foot, stood at bus terminals during rush hour, and listened closely to the people whose daily lives are shaped by the city's movement.

Dong died in October 2025 at the age of 58 after a sudden illness. What he left behind was not just a record of positions held and honors earned, but an enduring vision of how to fix the traffic system's problems, not just the symptoms.

Born in the 1960s, Dong graduated from the People's Public Security University of China in 1989 and joined the Beijing police force the same year. Assigned to a station in Xicheng district, one of the capital's most densely populated areas, he began his career as a community officer.

At a time when university graduates were still uncommon in grassroots policing, Dong quickly stood out for how quickly he learned the terrain. During his probation period he was given responsibility for a community known for population mobility and public security challenges. Instead of relying on paperwork, he immersed himself in the neighborhood, getting to know residents, businesses and risk points through constant visits. At an internal briefing just months into the job, while others referred to cards and files, Dong spoke from memory, calmly recalling people, places and problems. He had already absorbed what normally took years to learn.

Dong's habit of relentlessly cataloging first-hand observations became a defining feature of his career. After rotating through several departments, he moved into policy and coordination roles at the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau. Former colleagues say that when faced with a problem, whether crime patterns, administrative bottlenecks or traffic congestion, Dong would first visit the site, often at unconventional hours. He believed reports were necessary but insufficient, and was fond of saying: "If you haven't seen it yourself, you haven't really understood it."

That mindset shaped his leadership style. Decisions were grounded in reality, implementation plans were detailed and policies were designed to be executable, not abstract.

Between 2021 and 2023, Dong served as head of the Tongzhou District Public Security Bureau, responsible for the area designated as Beijing's sub-administrative center. Its rapid development brought population growth, rising service demands and complex security challenges. Dong responded by pushing administrative reforms that simplified procedures and improved access. Under his leadership, Tongzhou expanded "one-stop" services, digitized approvals and rolled out more than 120 measures to make policing and public services more accessible and responsive to residents and businesses.

In 2023, Dong took on what many considered one of Beijing's most demanding roles when he was made director of the city's traffic management bureau, which is under the municipal public security bureau.

Managing Beijing's roads carries extraordinary pressure and includes enforcement, urban planning, coordination across departments, and public trust. Dong approached traffic not as an isolated system, but as a reflection of how a city works. Every morning and evening rush hour, he was in the command center, watching live feeds and directing responses. Late at night, he reviewed data and prepared plans for the next day. He was known for his insistence that "no issue should wait until tomorrow".

When Dong noticed pedestrians repeatedly crossing against traffic near Deshengmen in Xicheng, he didn't stop at issuing warnings. After investigating, he determined that the bus terminal placement and route design forced commuters to cross busy roads.

The solution required coordination far beyond traffic police. Under Dong's push, proposals to relocate long-distance bus routes and optimize traffic flow around key nodes were incorporated into the city's broader transport governance plan. He initiated congestion-relief projects to improve safety and efficiency across major corridors, using a methodical approach to identify one bottleneck, solve it thoroughly, then replicate the model. "Fixing a single point isn't enough," he once told colleagues. "You fix points to stabilize the whole network."

Dong attends a meeting in Beijing. CHINA DAILY

Dong believed that modern governance depended on technology — but only if it reduced burdens on people. He was a strong advocate for digital public services, pushing to move traffic administration online wherever possible. Under his leadership, Beijing expanded the functionality of the "Traffic 12123" mobile platform, enabling residents to handle dozens of services remotely. Today, close to 80 percent of traffic-related services in Beijing can be completed online.

For Dong, efficiency was not an abstract metric. He described citizen complaints as "a thermometer of public trust", arguing that data should travel more and people should travel less — and that responses must be timely and meaningful. Despite his seniority, Dong maintained a reputation for personal discipline and humility. He worked long hours, often staying overnight at the office, yet rarely spoke of his own fatigue.

He was demanding but approachable, decisive but cautious, and known for listening carefully before offering succinct guidance that often clarified complex problems.

Colleagues describe him as someone who could think strategically while still caring about details down to the placement of traffic signs, drainage covers, or pedestrian barriers. Outside work, Dong was private and understated. His family learned of many of his professional achievements only after they were reported publicly. His wife Xu Wenjun, also a police officer, once asked him to send a brief message whenever he returned to the office late at night — messages that often arrived near dawn.

Dong joined the Communist Party of China in 1989 and served continuously until his death. Over his career, he received numerous commendations, including two first-class individual merits and the title of National Model Police Officer. This year, he was posthumously honored as a "Role Model of the Times".

Those closest to Dong say his real legacy lies in smoother traffic around major hospitals and in administrative services that no longer require repeated visits, as well as in policing models that emphasize coordination over confrontation, and in younger officers who learned from him that authority begins with understanding reality.

"He showed us that leadership doesn't come from distance," one colleague said, "but from walking the same roads as the people you serve."