Chinese soldiers patrol the border with Russia in Heihe, northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, December 29, 2009. Soldiers continued their routine patrolling as temperature dropped to minus 36 degrees Celsius in Heihe, Xinhua reported.

CHANGCHUN - Police shot dead a man who took a masseuse hostage in northeast China’s Jilin Province Tuesday.

The man was shot at about 6 p.m. after he ignored police warnings and pleas for about 17 hours, said Gao Xuezhang, vice mayor of Changchun, the provincial capital.

The hostage was rescued and was in a stable condition, said Gao, also the director with the public security bureau of Changchun.

The hostage taker, Qiao Mingfei, had robbed the boss of a hotel at about 4 p.m. Monday and arrived at the Shuijingge Foot Massage House in downtown Changchun five hours later.

Qiao, 32, kidnapped the 23-year-old massause and held her at knifepoint at about 12:40 a.m. Tuesday when the massage house was about to close.

Police officers arrived shortly after and began negotiations.

The motives of the hostage taker was not known.

Qiao, a native of Tonghua City of Jilin, was released from jail in January after he was given a death penalty with reprieve in 1994 for murder and robbery, police sources said.

The local police authorities are to hold a press conference soon about the incident.