Over 700,000 people have participated in voluntary services in northwest China'sXinjiangUygur Autonomous Region this year, according to the local youth organization.

As of Dec. 5 (International Volunteer Day), more than 20,000 volunteers have registered with 781 voluntary associations and service teams at various levels in Xinjiang, the Xinjiang Regional Committee of the Communist Youth League said.

Apart from social volunteers, many the registered volunteers are from China's "Go West" program, which was launched by several government departments in 2003.

The program sends university graduates to perform volunteer work in education, health, agriculture and social management in the country's remote and underdeveloped western regions.

The number of participants in the program in Xinjiang grew from 400 in 2013 to more than 3,000 this year, making a great contribution to local development.