This year's Mother's Day is a special one for 40 female prisoners in the women's prison in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, who for the first time since their confinement were able to hug their mothers and see them face to face.

An inmate hugs her mother during an emotional meeting in Chongqing Women's Prison on Monday. As Mother's Day drew closer, the prison arranged a special event allowing the prisoners to meet with their mothers. [Chen Fu / for China Daily]

"It was an emotional moment for us as well," said Yang Zhengmei, a policewoman from the prison who coordinated the event.

The event, the first in the prison's history, included sessions of mothers touring the living and training areas in the prison and a seminar that enabled face-to-face communications between mothers and daughters and also with the prison authority.

Yang said all prisoners wept at the sight of their mothers and even police officers at the scene could not hold back their tears.

In normal prison visits, prisoners and visitors are separated by glass windows and can only talk through a phone.

The prisoners were selected based on who had served long-term imprisonment and who had behaved above standards at the prison.

Yang said the prisoners could not hide their excitement when the prison police announced the Mother's Day event.

"Everyone carefully prepared their gifts, all of which were made by hand," Yang said.

The event was particularly touching when the prisoners sang Mother in the Candlelight, as their voices mixed with sounds of weeping.

For one female prisoner, the event gave her the opportunity to hug her mother for the first time in three years, and she rushed to her the minute she entered the room designated for the event.

To see her daughter, her mother also had to get up early to catch the bus at 6 am and rode two hours to the prison in the suburb of Chongqing.

Song Heng, the deputy chief of the prison, said the prison organized the Mother's Day event in consideration of the female prisoners' emotions.

"Female prisoners generally have strong emotional attachments and long for family reunions," Song said.

Song said the Mother's Day event was well received by both prisoners and families and will be continued in the future.

"The prisoners seemed to be clearly motivated, and we are willing to be open to supervision and advice," he added.

xuwei@chinadaily.com.cn