Tens of thousands of young Chinese have served their country by working as volunteers in some of the lesser-developed regions of the country over the past two decades, a national political adviser says.

On Friday, Zhang Zhaohui, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and serving at the Communist Youth League of China, praised the young volunteers involved in a government program called Xibu Jihua (Westward Project) that aims to revitalize education, healthcare and rural development in lesser-developed areas, mostly in Western China, including Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

"I was particularly impressed by a young man in Hotan, Xinjiang, last spring, who is from Shandong and chose to stay in Xinjiang after completing his voluntary services," Zhang said. For 11 years he has worked in southern Xinjiang in traditional Chinese medicine and rehabilitation.

"Many of the volunteers chose to stay where they were after completing their service and have become teachers, doctors or agricultural experts there."

More than 500,000 young volunteers have worked as volunteers in such areas over the past 20 years and made a great contribution to the country, he said.

Under the Xibu Jihua program, founded in 2003, college graduates and postgraduate students are signed up to volunteer in positions in education, healthcare, agriculture and civil services for one to three years.