Nighty-seven well-behaved inmates in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region are allowed to reunite with their families for the Spring Festival, which falls on Feb. 3, local authorities said Tuesday.

Sixty-five of the inmates can stay home for five days. The other 32 are allowed to go home for one day.

The inmates and their families burst into tears hearing the announcement.

An inmate surnamed Li said, "I'm very happy to be able to spend the Spring Festival with my family. When I started serving my sentence, I felt my world had collapsed."

Since 2009, a total of 486 inmates in the region have received permission to spend the Spring Festival at home, and all of them have returned to prison on time.