The China Daily reports that each year an additional 2.5 million to 3.5 million Chinese unsuccessfully attempt suicide, which stood as the fifth major cause of death among the country's 1.3 billion people.

Suicide is the number one cause of death among people aged 20 to 35 in China, where an estimated quarter of a million people a year, or 685 a day, take their lives.

Beijing psychiatrist Liu Hong was quoted in the newspaper, saying that young people lacking the experience to cope with life's pressures and competition, tend to get depressed.

More than 60 per cent of 15,431 surveyed, suffered depression over the past two years and were aged their 20s or 30s.