A recent survey of women in 20 large and medium-sized cities
across the country revealed that about half of the respondents were
happy with their marriages and relationships, while nearly 30
percent said they were bored and 3.4 percent said they were in
agony.
Three percent said they were worried about their relationships
and 12 percent said they did not know how to describe their mixed
feelings.
The Huakun Women Survey Center, an affiliate of the All-China
Women's Federation, conducted the survey of 2,000 women aged
between 20 and 60 at the end of last year. Altogether, 1,955 valid
questionnaires were collected.
The average age of the surveyed women was 35, and 70 percent
were married. About 57 percent of the respondents had monthly
incomes ranging from 1,000 yuan to 3,000 yuan.
Women in Shanghai seemed to have the most fulfilling love lives,
with more than 70 percent saying they felt happy. They were
followed by women in Beijing, Qingdao, Ningbo and Tianjin in terms
of fulfillment.
The survey also revealed that marriages tended to get less happy
the longer they lasted.
For example, women who had been married for less than eight
years said they were much happier than those who had been married
for longer periods of time, said Zhang Qi, the center's deputy
director and the person in charge of the survey.
Women rated responsibility to family, consideration and good
taste as the most important qualities in a spouse, while a high
income, promising career and nice appearance ranked fifth, eighth
and 11th, respectively, Zhang said.
A young man and woman register for
marriage in a marriage registration station in Haikou, south
China's Hainan Province, on February 25.
The responses to the questions focusing on issues of mental
health were also revealing. Seventy-two percent of the respondents
said they felt anxiety occasionally, and 16 percent said they
frequently worried.
The respondents aged between 30 and 50 years old were the most
worried, with 20 percent saying they were regularly plagued with
nervousness. Women in the 51-60-year-old category were the least
bothered by anxiety, the survey showed.
Changsha, Chongqing and Nanning had the highest ratios of
worried women, while Kunming and Dalian had the lowest ratios.
Pressure from work, problems with their children's education,
and tough personal relationships were the main causes of
nervousness, according to the results of the survey.
(China Daily March 2, 2007)
