Volunteer tells of challenges in Yining, Xinjiang

"Although I thought I was fully prepared before leaving for Yining in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, when I arrived I found many more difficulties than I could imagine," said Zhu Rui, an experienced lawyer from Guangdong who volunteered to go to Yining to offer legal aid services.

The living and working conditions in Yining were very poor, she said, and there was a dire shortage of legal resources to handle a rising number of disputes and court cases.

In July last year, Zhu bought an SUV, printer, computer, network card and articles for daily use and drove more than 5,000 kilometers to Yining to serve as a legal aid lawyer for a year.