More than 1,000 policemen in China's largest city Shanghai began carrying revolvers for the first time while on patrol as the country tightens public security to deal with serious incidents of violence like knife attacks.
Chinese police generally do not carry guns and gun crime is rare in China, which has strict controls on firearms.
Previously, Shanghai policemen carried batons, handcuffs, flashlights, first aid kits, walkie-talkies and tear gas bottles during patrols.
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The Ministry of Public Security invested in the firearms and specially designed them for its police force.
The police officers qualified to carry them after a training series and examinations on laws and psychology, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
In addition to Shanghai, the ministry named other key cities, such as Changsha, Kunming, Urumqi and Lhasa, where public security will be reinforced to effectively prevent and crack down on criminal activities.
The police will carry out routine patrols in pairs in densely populated areas, such as urban centres and transport hubs.
"The feedback showed that citizens are wide open to the new move and actually they are sort of looking forward to it," Rui Minghua, an official with the patrol police division said.
"We do so to raise the public sense of security and we are confident in ensuring that the firearms are safely used and keeping firearm abuse to a minimum," the official told Xinhua.
"I do feel some pressure in carrying a gun," said Wang Haiyi, a policeman with the Changning branch of the municipal public security bureau.
Following last month's fatal knife attacks in Kunming and Changsha that left 39 people dead and 143 others injured, the ministry said that it would carry out armed patrols and take timely measures to handle violent crimes.
Public security organs at all levels have been urged to increase work efficiency and improve the emergency command mechanism in order to fight crime.
The ministry also launched a three-month programme in early March to train policemen in using firearms.
