A city in mourning

The year 2010 was the year of the tiger according to the Chinese lunar calendar. Coincidentally, the three dead policemen were all born in tiger years.

Yellow ribbons were tied to cars' rearview mirrors and residents of Tai'an brought chrysanthemum and lit candles to mourn for the dead. Some wept.

Students from Shandong University of Agriculture, which is near the sanatorium, brought scrolls with characters reading "May you rest in peace" to the scene of the gunfight.

Many netizens expressed their feelings on their microblogs.

"We will remember you" and "Salute our heroes," they wrote.

"Xia Bo saved a fellow police officer in 2007 by covering him with his own body," said his colleague Li Bin. "He was such a good man."

The shopkeeper near Li Liang's police bureau recalled the smile of the young man. "He gave me 20 yuan and asked me to recharge his cell phone on Monday. That was the last time I talked with him."

It was not easy for Qi Honghai's colleagues to tell his parents of his death.

"They are about 80 years old. Could they stand it?" an unnamed police officer said.

"We told them a lie and brought them to the hospital first. Then we told them the news," he said.

Gun ownership is illegal in China but gun-related crimes happen now and then.