RESUMO
Mental health is key to public health, as building and developing a mental health service system is legally required in the Mental Health Law of China. The authors probed deep, by means of questionnaire, field survey and group interview, into the characteristics and setbacks of the resources available, organizational framework and operations of the system in China. As found in the study, given a framework in place, this system is plagued by insufficient human resources, weak infrastructure, unreasonable input and compensation mechanism, as well as poor management at community level. These problems are common nationwide. On this basis and with reference to experiences of developed countries, policy proposals are raised in terms of integrated system building, capacity building and assurance mechanism, for framework building and supportive policies of other cities in China.