Arbitration helps relieve courts

SHANGHAI - Zhang Jianguo, who serves as a mediator in Shanghai, has received more than 100 silk banners in 28 years of service.

Zhang, the head of Jiangan district people's mediation office, has helped resolve more than 5,000 disputes till date.

Zhang's office has four full-time mediators who once used to be lawyers or legal workers. They are paid just a little over 1,000 yuan a month by the government.