In the eyes of Chinese women, a good boyfriend should earn at least 6,701 yuan (US$1,027) a month, the Xinmin Evening News reported.

Jiayuan.com, the popular online dating platform in China, released a survey on public attitudes to love and marriage on Valentine's Day. A total of 14,697 single men and women in nearly equal numbers participated in the survey.

For men, the three most important attributes of a woman are good looks (68 percent), age (64 percent) and educational background (25 percent), while for women, the three most important requirements were age (61 percent), looks and income (both 60 percent) and having an apartment (46 percent).

As for the other half's income, people differed greatly in different regions and at different age levels. On average, women felt satisfied with a man who had a monthly income of at least 6,701 yuan. Those born in the 1980s had the highest expectations, hoping their potential boyfriends to earn at least 6,993 yuan (US$1,072).

The traditional notion that husband and wife should have similar backgrounds is echoed by many people. Of all those surveyed, 33 percent of men and 50 percent of women agreed on that point. The more highly educated, the firmer they were in that belief. Among those with a master's degree and above, 58 percent of men and 73 percent of women believed this to be true.

The survey also found that single men are more likely to feel lonely. Of them, those with poorer education and low income are the most vulnerable. Of those surveyed, men with a high school education or lower educational background and those earning no more than 2,000 yuan (US$306) scored a loneliness rating of 77 points out of 100, while women with lower education and lower income scored 69 points and 70 points respectively. In regard to age, those born in the 1990s are most vulnerable to loneliness, with men scoring 75 points and women 68 points.

The family planning policy was also examined. Generally speaking, men are more supportive of the new two-child policy. Of men who are not the single child of their families, 56 percent were willing to have two children, while those who are the single child, only 40 percent approved.

The proportion among women was 47 and 40 percent respectively. Those who are the single child and were born in the 1980s are the most unwilling to have two children, with only 39 percent of both men and women willing.

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