The place of serving a sentence is generally allocated by the provincial prison administration where the court where the judgment is made is located. There are not many specific rules, and they rarely go out of the province. Unless it is a particularly serious crime, it may be transferred to these famous prisons such as Shihezi Prison in Xinjiang.
If you want to change the place of serving your sentence, it is very difficult without any major formal reasons. Even if there are legitimate reasons, the prison can not provide scientific research conditions, etc., but also through strict procedures. After all, it is no small matter to cross provincial administrative regions. It would be better if you change the place where you serve your sentence in the province.
I suggest you check with the Justice Bureau.
But this hope is very slim. If it's for life, advise your friend to serve a good sentence. If he behaves well, he will come out soon.
About the place of imprisonment, it is roughly like this:
If the sentence is short, the sentence will generally be served in the prison or detention center where the sentence is pronounced.
If the sentence is longer, they may be sent back to their original prisons to serve their sentences, especially in big cities such as Beijing and Guangzhou, where they will have regular operations.
If you are a recidivist, your sentence is very long, and you may be sent to a prison in the northwest and other places to serve your sentence.
Criminals and their relatives have no right to apply for or choose where to serve their sentences. It is operated by the prison management department of the place where the sentence is served according to local regulations and actual conditions. If you want to ask, you can only confirm it at the prison.
Both criminal law and criminal procedure law have provisions on commutation, which is the most practical.