Shanghai is pioneering new ways of helping prisoners prepare for a return to society. Wujiaochang Prison is specifically designed for inmates who will soon be freed. For years it has offered a variety of education and training programs. We begin a three-episode series on the difficulties inmates face when they rejoin society with a visit to the prison in Yangpu District. Reporter Yuan Chenyue has the story.

Zhou was handed an 11-year sentence for fraud and still has 2 years to serve. He's been learning to be a plumber in Wujiaochang Prison and has a junior level certificate after three months.

PRISONER "Before I was put into jail, I didn't have a stable job. I now find that learning plumbing is a good opportunity as it might be useful work in the future. At first, I found it quite difficult as my education is limited. But with my teacher's guidance, I can even do simple circuit designs."

The prison offers 40 such short-term classes every year, covering skills ranging from plumbing, car care, tea art and nursing aid. Every week there is a training day. All of the classes are in line with national skills training requirements. The teachers are from professional schools. Inmates need to take tests to get recognized national certificates after they finish the course. They hope the skills they learn will eventually lead to a job on the outside.

I am in the car care course and want to open my own business in the future. I now can do work such as waxing and washing.

HUO MING, TEACHER SHANGHAI PAI'AN VOCATIONAL SCHOOL "Since many prisoners are poorly educated, I tried to be more practical when teaching. For example, when teaching them how to polish damaged car paint, I explained the effects instead of using a lot of technical terms. They learned well under the strict management here. They ended up having a better passing rate in technical skills than my students in schools."

YUAN CHENYUE REPORTER In 2011, China specified that provinces with the resources to do so set up special prisons for prisoners who are scheduled to be released. Here in Wujiaochang Prison, prisoners will spend their last three months learning professional skills so they will have a better chance of finding a job and adapting to life in the outside world.

There's also an area inside the prison where inmates can visit a mock police station, social security service center and even bank. Employees from these government agencies and public facilities are invited regularly to explain current policies so prisoners can keep up to date with changes in society.

PRISONER "I asked the bank staff about the current smartphone apps for banking and I also wanted to learn more about the facial recognition feature. I've heard about it in the news. I haven't used WeChat though as I've been in prison for nine years. I am a little anxious, but I'll try to keep up with society as I'm still young."

PRISONER "I asked about how to apply for a basic living allowance and how to change my expired ID card. I will be released next month. Before I felt uneasy as I've been in prison for 11 years and was a little confused about my future life."

HU GUOZHONG, PARTY CHIEF SHANGHAI WUJIAOCHANG PRISON "Prisoners will be unfamiliar with the outside world after serving a long sentence. So we created an opportunity for them to learn what they need to know. When prisoners walk out of here, they won't feel so much fear or strangeness when they go to these places to handle paper work."

Nearly 4,000 inmates have been released from Wujiaochang Prison over the past six years. The repeat offenders rate is around 2%. Police say that figure is lower than the rate for prisoners who haven't been given any training before they are freed.