METHODS: A total of 550 patients with schizophrenia were recruited at 4 Chinese sites and randomly assigned to receive perphenazine (16 to 64 mg per day) or haloperidol(6 t0 20mg per day), olanzapine (5 to 20 mg per day), quetiapine (400 to 750 mg per day), aripiprazole (10 to 30 mg per day) or risperidone (2 to 6.0 mg per day) for up to 8 weeks.