Wang, a middle-aged resident of Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, went to see his son, a convict serving a term, at Jinjing Prison quite regularly. But his visit to the jail in the city's southern suburbs yesterday was unusual, as he was given a guided tour of the premises.

"I set my heart at rest after the visit because the prison is as good as my son told me," he said.

Liu was one of the 1,024 Sichuan locals who visited five prisons in the province yesterday, on its first so-called "open prison day".