Laogai inmates working in a cotton field in the Xinjiang region in 1994. This photograph was taken by LRF founder Harry Wu on one of several undercover information-gathering trips to China in the 1990s. Xinjiang is a remote western province of China, also known as East Turkestan. The Laogai Research Foundation has documented numerous cases of Laogai inmates being sent from their native provinces to Laogai camps in Xinjiang. Often, inmates who are relocated to Xinjiang will lose their residency permits, meaning that even if they are later released from the Laogai, they will be unable to return home.

1994年吴弘达摄于新疆维吾尔自治区，图为劳改犯在棉花田里劳动。新疆位于中国偏远的大西北内陆地区，也称“东土耳其斯坦”。许多被流放到新疆接受劳改的犯人往往都会丧失他们在原籍地的户口，这意味着即使他们有朝一日刑满释放，也无法再回到家乡。