Lanzhou Drug Addiction Compulsory Treatment Center in Lanzhou, Southwest China's Gansu Province, is the largest of its kind in China. Some 21,373 people, 2,768 of whom are women, have received treatment here since its opening in January 1998.

The center uses a quasi-military approach to addicts, which means they must get up, do morning exercises, eat, or rest at designated times. The center also uses innovative methods for addiction treatment, including animal therapy, where patients are encouraged to take care of pets to help them gain a sense of responsibility.

Zhang, an addict, said he used to be a successful businessman through his drug use he not only lost millions of yuan, but his family also broke up.

Among the 100 female drug addicts currently at the center, the oldest is 45 years old, and the youngest is only fifteen. Thirty-six of them hold college degrees and five of them are illiterate.

(All pictures taken on June 24, 2006.)

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An officer [C] talks with drug addicts.