A patient reads a book at the Nanqu branch of Zhongshan Second People's Hospital in Zhongshan city, South China's Guangdong province, on Dec 20, 2015. [Photo by Xiao Bing/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Wang added 720 registered drugs users have received treatment at the hospital.

The other cities in the province are likely to announce similar measures in 2016 to better accommodate and treat more than 18,000 drug users with serious illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, said Deng.

There were 578,000 registered drug users in Guangdong province by Dec 11, accounting for nearly one sixth all round China.

"The hospital undoubtedly contributes a lot to the local drug control job," said Tan.