Putting the legal ball in a new court

Since they were established a little more than a year ago, China's first circuit courts have changed the country's legislative landscape. Cao Yin reports from Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

Looking back at the first year of the First Circuit Court in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, Gao Xiaoli, who has worked as a chief judge at China's top court since 1994, said she has had no time to feel homesick, even though she only returns to Beijing once a month.

The new circuit courts, which act as branches of the Supreme People's Court, the nation's top legal tribunal, are part of a two-year pilot program related to ongoing reform of the judiciary. Before their foundation, all cases referred to the Supreme People's Court had to be heard in Beijing.