A police officer aims his gun during the 2023 Guangzhou Public Security Special Police Combat Training Competition at the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau Special Police Training Base, in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, Oct 31, 2023. (PARKER ZHENG / CHINA DAILY)

The sounds of gunfire emerge sporadically from a police training base on a cloudless Tuesday afternoon in Guangzhou. Fear not, it's no gunfight. The 2023 Guangzhou Public Security Special Police Combat Training Competition is going on in the capital city of Guangdong province. 

The competition, which aims to strengthen the combat capabilities and overall qualities of the special police teams, will end on Nov 2. 

Seventeen teams, comprising 126 officers from districts across the city took part in the training event and have competed in five events, including pistol application shooting, and short- and long-range combat shooting.

China Daily’s Parker Zheng took the photos.