Ma Tuo dreamed of fighting crime as a college student as he majored in criminal investigation 13 years ago.

But after graduating, he became a metro police officer on the Beijing subway instead, and was responsible for more trivial matters like stopping passengers from quarreling and asking peddlers not to block the exits.

One day, he decided to post a short story online, sharing an experience he'd just had with an elderly vendor. To his surprise, it received thousands of comments and likes and earned him many followers.

That was when his journey truly began, and as he continued to share the things that happened to him at work, his following grew.

To date, Ma's posts have received around 400 million views and he has even published a popular book about his subway life.

China Daily recently spoke to the celebrity metro police officer to get to a sense of why his stories of everyday working life seem have caught the interest of so many people.