Men, where are you? Hundreds of thousands of women over 30 in this southern city of Guangzhou are single and many are seeking marriage, according to a new survey.
The survey, part of a research project concerned with population and social development issues in GuangdongProvince, investigated marriage trends in Guangzhou.
Findings indicated that 300,000 Guangzhou women, above the age of 30, are single, while single men only number 200,000.
In China, it is common for people to marry before 30.
Guan Xiufang, a researcher of Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences, said it was more difficult for single women over 30 to find a spouse than it was for men of the same age group.
"This problem has emerged as early as the beginning of 1980s, but the reasons have differed in different periods," Guan said.
In 1970s and 1980s, many young urban people had to go to work in the countryside or mountain areas because of the Cultural Revolution.
"Many women did not want to get married and settle down in rural places. Therefore, they remained single into their thirties," Guan said.
Perhaps today women holding off on getting married, because they are being more selective about their potential partners.
"They are too picky or too busy to find ideal spouses when they are of a normal marrying age," Luo Tingting, a woman working for a marriage matching company, said.
"Then, when they are old they are not as 'competitive' as the younger women." She said most men who have the qualities women prefer would rather marry girls who are young and pretty, not older ones.
About 70 percent of the people who have sought help from marriage matching companies are women, and most of them are 30 or older, Luo said.
The marriage trends are not exclusive to Guangzhou. The survey said the number of single people who are in or above normal marrying age has exceeded 1 million in Shanghai and Beijing.
Zhang Jianwu, the leader of the survey said the family planning policy advocated marrying at a mature age, but does not encourage marrying too late or staying single for an entire lifetime.
(China Daily 10/09/2007 page 4)
（英语点津 Linda 编辑）
About the broadcaster:
Marc Checkley is a freelance journalist and media producer from Auckland, New Zealand. Marc has had an eclectic career in the media/arts, most recently working as a radio journalist for NewstalkZB, New Zealand’s leading news radio network, as a feature writer for Travel Inc, New Nutrition Business (UK) and contributor for Mana Magazine and the Sunday Star Times. Marc is also a passionate arts educator and is involved in various media/theatre projects in his native New Zealand and Singapore where he is currently based. Marc joins the China Daily with support from the Asia New Zealand Foundation.
