The idea that "love is unconditional" was proved wrong in a recent online survey on Chinese attitudes toward love and marriage.

Nearly 80 percent of female respondents said men earning less than 4,000 yuan ($635) a month should not start a relationship. More than a quarter of women polled expected to date men with a monthly income of 10,000 yuan or more.

Lu Xiongyu, who works at an import-and-export company in Beijing, said it was only fair that women should want to date men earning 4,000 yuan a month or more.

"Living costs are high in big cities and love cannot be sustained without enough bread," the 27-year-old said.

However, not every woman puts the premium on a man's economic status while looking for romance.

"Love is not a trade and a lot of women don't need to economically rely on men for a decent life," said Hu Heng, a 25-year-old resident in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. She is single.

The survey, polling more than 50,000 people nationwide aged from 20 to 60, was jointly conducted by the China Association of Social Workers and Baihe.com, a major dating and matchmaking website in China.

Female respondents regard having a stable income, savings and a house as the most important economic conditions for men they might consider marrying. Less than 6 percent of women said they did not care about the financial status of men.

The survey shows women and men have different reasons for remaining single.