CHENGDU, CHINA — On the outskirts of this western city, in a field of bright yellow flowers, Wang Xi stood on a wrestling mat and eyed her opponent, a brawny man with short-cropped hair fresh from the army. After a quick bow, she lunged at his legs, flipped him over and, within seconds, pinned him to the ground.
Yang Shengli, a career military man turned entrepreneur, watched from behind his sunglasses with satisfaction. Wang, a former junior judo champion from Inner Mongolia, is a star on his female team training for the Summer Olympics in Beijing. But they're not going as athletes -- they'll be there as bodyguards for rich Chinese and foreign VIPs.
"Not bad," Yang said after watching Wang and another recruit, a kickboxing champ, take down a team of male security guards. "Their power is enough. I'm more concerned about their mental fitness; how they can handle an emergency."
About 2 million Chinese, along with half a million foreigners, are expected to travel to Beijing for the Summer Games. Tens of thousands of police from across the nation will be called to help secure the city, but safety concerns are rising as the Games approach.
In March, a bus with Australian passengers was seized by a man wearing explosives in Xian, one of China's most popular tourist sites. Then there was an alleged attempt by Uighur minorities in China to hijack a plane. And deadly protests in Tibet spread to Gansu and Sichuan provinces.
Private security is taking off as the nation struggles with some of the side effects of its booming growth. A widening rich-poor gap has left wealthy Chinese feeling vulnerable. There are regular reports of attacks targeting the rich. One Chinese company now offers kidnapping insurance.
"It's a special period, China is in an economic transition," said He Jiahong, professor of law at People's University in Beijing. "There are lots of conflicts appearing in society, and crimes toward rich people are inevitable. . . . This is why private guard services appeared and increased."
Yang's company, Anrong Bodyguard Security Consultant, was launched about a year ago. Since then, it has grown to about 100 guards, whose clients have included actor Jackie Chan. Yang won't reveal his fees for the Olympics, but in ordinary times for ordinary people, he says it's at least $140 for an eight-hour day, excluding expenses.
