Huang Qihuan 

Huang Qihuan, a 45-year-old police officer in Loudi, Central China's Hunan Province, successfully saved a family after he offered himself up to a local kidnapper in exchange for residents who were being held hostage in an apartment.

At midnight on August 30, Huang was dispatched to the apartment to solve a conflict, where a man was threatening his brother with a knife. Huang exchanged himself for the hostage and persuaded the kidnapper to free the family after a five-hour negotiation, during which Huang experienced threats from the knife-wielding kidnapper, who also poured cooking oil on Huang and turned on a gas cooker, with the intention of killing them both.

The knife was held to Huang's neck for several hours, causing injuries which required him to be rushed to hospital.

"I was mentally prepared for death several times during the five hours as a hostage. These five hours were the most horrifying that I've ever experienced as a police officer," Huang recollected.

Huang became a policeman in 2006 after being discharged from military service. His heroic act won praise throughout the country, prompting tributes to the nation's police.