Geographic Inconsistencies in 'I Am A Criminal Police Officer'

The portrayal of the fictional Zhongchang Province in the popular Chinese TV drama “I Am A Criminal Police Officer” has sparked considerable discussion due to its numerous geographic and administrative inconsistencies.

The most glaring issue lies in the province’s impossible geography. Zhongchang Province is depicted as having snow-covered forests in the northeast, tropical jungles in the south, the Gobi Desert in the west, and a major river running through its center. This geographic diversity mirrors that of China itself rather than any realistic provincial territory. The province supposedly stretches from regions resembling China’s northeastern climate to areas bordering Myanmar, covering a distance that would be implausible for a single administrative region.

The administrative structure presents another layer of inconsistency. The series portrays Zhongchang Province as having an unusually high number of cities and administrative divisions. During the Zhang Kehan case investigation, characters frequently travel between cities by airplane, suggesting distances more appropriate for inter-provincial rather than intra-provincial travel. This representation effectively compresses what would normally be national-level operations into provincial jurisdiction.

The climate inconsistencies are particularly noticeable in specific scenes. In one instance, during a winter morning in Hegan (a northern city within the province), the lighting and environment fail to accurately reflect the typical darkness of early morning hours in northern regions. The show presents 6:30 AM as fully bright, which contradicts the reality of winter mornings in northern latitudes.

The series also struggles with its handling of dialect and regional characteristics. While attempting to create a unified provincial identity, the show presents an implausible range of accents and cultural markers that would typically be associated with different regions across China rather than a single province. The decision to compress such diverse linguistic and cultural elements into one province creates a jarring disconnect from reality.

These geographic and administrative liberties taken by the show’s creators have generated significant discussion among viewers, particularly those familiar with China’s provincial structures and geographic realities. While dramatic license is common in television productions, the extent of these inconsistencies in “I Am A Criminal Police Officer” highlights a broader question about balancing dramatic storytelling with geographic and administrative authenticity in contemporary Chinese television.

The unrealistic portrayal extends beyond mere geographic features to affect the show’s narrative credibility, particularly in scenes involving cross-jurisdictional police work and administrative procedures. This has led many viewers to question whether the series sacrificed too much realism in its attempt to create an all-encompassing dramatic setting.