A total of 1,952 farmer-turned-workers were granted Shenzhen hukou in 2006, nearly twice as many as the number in 2005, the municipal labor and social security bureau revealed yesterday.

In 2004, Shenzhen started to grant hukou, or permanent residence permits, to former farmers attaining certain vocational qualifications. In the past, hukou had been limited strictly to urban dwellers, and it was impossible for migrants from the countryside to get a Shenzhen hukou until the city government eased the restrictions in 2004.

So far 3,758 of the city's 6 million strong farmer-turned-workers have received Shenzhen hukou, which allows holders to get easier access to public education, social security and government-subsidized low-cost apartments.

Yang Guang, from a poor peasant family in Zhanjiang City, was the first farmer-turned-worker to get Shenzhen hukou. Yang came to Shenzhen to work as a security guard in 1998 and was granted Shenzhen hukou in 2004.

Editor: Yan