"Suicide is a very complicated problem. It's a different situation among different groups," said Phillips, now director of suicide research and prevention at the Shanghai Mental Health Center and winner of the State Council's 2012 International Science and Technology Cooperation Award.

"The problem among young people has to do with education and family environment. There is too much to be done in the country."

The study found that from 1995 to 1999, China's suicide rate reached 0.023 percent, one of the highest in the world. In recent years, the rate has dropped, thanks largely to controls on pesticides, and greater medical support and education.

However, the suicide trend among young people in recent years has raised concerns.

A 2008 poll of more than 3,800 teenagers in Foshan, Guangdong province, found that 17 percent of female junior high school students had contemplated suicide. The main reasons were the pressure to behave well and feelings of isolation and loneliness, according to a report by the city's health authority.

"There is a clear connection with the country's basic education system," said Xu Kaiwen, an associate professor of clinical psychology at Peking University.

"They (the girls) have been educated to work hard and receive high marks from childhood. But although they perform well in class, they lack education about the value of life," he said, adding that the problem is even more serious at prestigious universities.

"When they (students) meet difficulties, they are fragile," he said. "Such problems will extend to their work and life after graduation."

Depression increases the risk of someone attempting suicide by as much as 20 times, according to the Chinese CDC, with anxiety disorders increasing the risk by six to 10 times and alcohol abuse by six times.

To help students cope with the pressure, Xu said Peking University offers psychological counseling sessions once or twice a week.

"For young people who grow up under the protection of their family, there must be a platform for them to speak out whenever they feel anxious or in trouble," said Zhang Qi, deputy director of the psychological counseling center at East China Normal University.

"Keeping these things inside can make them into a disease," he added. "It requires work from families, schools and the government."

Cao Lianyuan, former director of Beijing Psychological Crisis and Intervention Center, agreed and said that although there is no cure-all remedy, ensuring people get enough social support through help lines and counseling would go a long way to reducing the suicide rate.

The first suicide hotline on the Chinese mainland opened in Beijing in 2002. Since then, similar projects have been launched in major cities such as Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Nanjing.

"In Taiwan, a 24-hour suicide intervention hotline can receive as many as 100,000 calls a year on average," said Lin, who is also secretary-general of the Taiwan Suicide Prevention Association. "On the Chinese mainland, the number still lags behind."

He said about a third of calls to the Life Education and Crisis Intervention Center come from people living outside of Shanghai.

"That reflects a large demand for such services, so psychological aid and crisis intervention need to be widely publicized," he said.

The center is now planning to expand the hotline to cover every district in Shanghai.