LHASA - More than 800 volunteers have been sent to southwest China's Tibet autonomous region this year to support education, medicine and agricultural production in underdeveloped areas.

A total of 820 volunteers, most of whom are university graduates, were selected from more than 10,000 applicants, since the recruitment was launched in May from 134 universities nationwide, the Tibet regional committee of the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC) announced Monday.

Their volunteer service usually lasts one to two years. They work in education, medical care, agriculture, poverty alleviation and other areas, the committee said.

The committee arranged a three-day training for the volunteers ahead of their mission to the region in order to help them adapt to the work and life there. The training will focus on health and hygiene on the plateau, history of Tibet, and briefing of the region's current situation.

Duan Zehua, a volunteer from the Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication, said grassroots work experience in Tibet will provide a good chance for volunteers to improve themselves and realize the value of life.

China initiated a campaign in 2003 to encourage more university student volunteers to work in China's underdeveloped western regions to promote development. To date, nearly 3,702 volunteers have served in Tibet since 2003, and 1,035 of them have stayed to work in Tibet after their services.