Since the opening of a shelter for abandoned infants in Nanjing, the first of its kind in Jiangsu province, the number of babies received by the city's Children's Welfare Institution has more than doubled.

"We've received 25 abandoned babies, including nine in the shelter since it was established on Dec 10. The number of abandoned infants we received last December was 15," Zhu Hong, director of the institution, said on Tuesday.

The institution set up the 5-square-meter shelter next door to its main facility.