A new arrival is tied to the bed while being medicated. Photo: IC

The hospital's resources are clearly strained as extra beds line the corridors, although the standard admissions procedure is still carried out for every newcomer, including checking their belongings for dangerous items and giving them a bath.

This small facility reflects a broader picture of strained resources and manpower in treating the growing number of mentally ill patients around China. More than 16 million people with serious mental illnesses are not receiving the appropriate treatment, while the total population needing some level of psychological care has soared to more than 100 million, according to figures released last month by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. In contrast, there were only 132,811 beds at all mental illness treatment facilities back in 2005.

The relatively high cost of these facilities, usually more than 1,000 yuan ($157) per month, is another contributing factor to the low admission rate of patients.

Social disparities and problems in dealing with drastic social changes have contributed to growing levels of mental stress and fatigue among the population.

Nurses in these asylums are on the frontline of this battle and are the prime witnesses of these insufficient resources. Their work runs the gamut every day, including changing patients' clothes, allocating medicine and food, organizing exercises and occasionally taking them out on trips.

Special attention is paid to any dangerous articles the patients could use to injure themselves or others. Besides running the risk of physical harm, the nurses also face far greater psychological pressure than in other professions.

Chinese you need:

Asylum：精神病院 (jīng shén bìng yuàn)
Patient：病人 ((bìng rén)
Intern：禁闭 (jìn bì)
Headcount：总人数 (zǒng rén shù)
Corridor：走廊 (zǒu láng)
Newcomer：新来者 (xīn lái zhě)
Strained：紧张的 (jǐn zhāng de)
Mental：精神的 (jīng shén de)
Treatment：治疗 (zhì liáo)

Psychological：心理的 (xīn lǐ de)
Contributing：起作用的 (qǐ zuò yòng de)
Disparity：悬殊 (xuán shū)
Drastic：急剧的 (jí jù de)
Fatigue：厌倦 (yàn juàn)
Frontline：前线 (qián xiàn)