Editor’s note: It seems that Chinese have their own opinions when it comes to dating and love; many a foreigner in China has been surprised by relationship demands made upon them by their Chinese partners who only want what any Chinese would want: a typical Chinese relationship.

As bewildering as this may prove to be, it’s much worse to make broad generalizations upon the concepts of love and relationship that Chinese have – until now. This Chinese translated story details the results of a scientific study that tries to accurately portray the current situation for unmarried people in China and to discover just what Chinese look for in a partner.

Part 1 focuses on national statistics and highlights the problems faced by the unmarried of China, namely the massive gender disparity, leaving many men of marrying age with little hope of finding that special one, and then it begins to find out what these people are doing instead of being married.

Part 2 turns its head to the requirements many have for their suitors. Do Chinese women prefer older men? Is a house and car necessary components to establishing a marriage? Is it right for a woman to expect her husband to give her all his wages? After all, percentages don’t lie!

The total number of unmarried adults over the age of 18 in China is around 249 million people; the disparity of the gender gap between men and women in the province of Guangdong is 1.65 million, and 70% of women aged 18 to 25 years prefer older men.

To look into the issue of dating, love and marriage in China the National Population and Family Planning Committee, in conjunction with an unnamed online matchmaking service platform, have cooperated to publish the “2012-2013 Report on Attitudes of Chinese Men and Women on Marriage and Relationships”. This is what they found.

Source: Instant Vantage

The report found that the number of unmarried people in China is currently very large and that the gender balance between men and women is not equal. There were about 23.15 million more Chinese men born in the between 1970 and 2000 than there were women during that period. Guangdong province has the most pronounced gender gap with 1.65 million more men than women.

Unmarried urbanites reach 132 million

A total of 987,824 participants tried to take part in the survey, but only 77,045 were deemed valid. The census shows that there are approximately 249 million unmarried people over 18 years of age in China, which accounts for 18.3% of the total population. Of this demographic, 132 million are currently living in cities, making up 18.5% of the urban population.

Gender imbalance

The gender imbalance situation between men and women has become serious in China; there are 26.7 males for every 24.9 females. The situation can be seen reflected in the number of unmarried people in their twenties, thirties and forties. According to the report the disparity seems to increase as unmarried people become older. The gender gap between unmarried men and woman in their forties has reached 206:100 (men to women); for unmarried people in their thirties, its 136:100; while for those it their twenties the ratio stands at 110:100. Of those born between 1970 and 2000 there are 23.15 million unmarried men.

Provinces, such as Hainan, Guangxi, Guizhou and Shaanxi are experiencing high levels of gender disparity. Yunnan Province has the highest gender disparity at 122:100. Provinces on the East Coast, in particular Jiangsu and Shandong and cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, seem to have a more balanced gender ratio. Interestingly, at 1.65 million, Guangdong Province has the most unmarried men of marrying age.

Men and woman are delaying marriage

Late marriages have become a trend in society now. Compared to trends 10 years ago people aged 20-29 years are putting marriage off until later in life. Chinese people in this age bracket are now getting married later. The sixth census shows that the average age of a Chinese man getting married is now 26.7 years of age, while the average age of a Chinese woman getting married is 24.9 years of age. Comparing these numbers to the fifth census it shows that on average men are putting marriage off by 1.4 years and women by 1.5 years than they were before.

Numbers of divorces are increasing

The investigation clearly shows that the rate of divorces is increasing faster than the rate of marriages. In the thirteen years between 2000 and 2012, the rate of divorce has had a compound growth rate (average yearly growth) of 7.5%, while the rate of marriage has only had a compound growth rate of 3.6%. According to information supplied by the Ministry of Civil Affairs for the previous three quarters in 2012, it is estimated that there were 13.5 million marriages, while there were 3.09 million divorces.

The rough estimates of the rates of marriage and divorce have increased for the entire country year after year for the period from the year 2000 until 2011. The rough estimate for the rate of marriage has slowly curved upwards; it is estimated that this rate had reached 10% in 2012. However, the rate of divorce has experienced a steeper increase and is estimated to reach 2.29% this year.

Men and woman disagree about pre-marital co-habitation

Holding hands is a clear sign of being in a relationship; well for 23% of men and women this is true, in fact it surpasses the numbers who believe other forms of intimacy mean a romantic relationship has been established.

No matter if it is dating, being in a relationship or marriage, men are always more impatient to proceed to the next step than women are as women are universally more conservative in their attitudes. According to the investigation, 86% of men are willing to cohabitate before marriage while only 36% of women would be willing to moving in together before marriage. On average, men want to get married 11.4 months after having their first date, while women want to get married, on average, 13.3 months after first meeting.

Source: iFeng

Warning：The use of any news and articles published on eChinacities.com without written permission from eChinacities.com constitutes copyright infringement, and legal action can be taken.

Keywords: Chinese dating Chinese love Chinese marriage Chinese weddings Chinese relationship Report Reveals Chinese Opinions on Dating