A survey reported on in China Youth Daily on September 12 found that family and marriage were the most important areas of life to both women and men in Chinese cities, and that they prized platonic relationships between them highly.

The study was conducted by Horizon Research China from May this year among 1,888 people aged 18 to 60 in the cities of Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang, Wuhan and Xi'an.

Traditional ideas that men should be concerned with matters outside the home and women inside appear to be contradicted by the results.

When asked what was the most important thing in their lives, 13.3 percent of men chose their "family's health" followed by "a good wife" (10.7 percent) and their "family's happiness” (10.4 percent).

Zhang Yun, a 40-year-old manager living with his parents, wife and daughter, told China Youth Daily that it was quite right for modern people to pay heavy attention to family.

"Competition in contemporary society is furious," said Zhang, "If your career fails, you may lose money, but you can start over again even in your 60s. If your marriage fails, you will face a disaster which could make your life and work fall to pieces."

The survey found that most women continue to prioritize family, listing their "family's health" as most important and most highly valued, and their "family's happiness" as giving them the most pride, but 7.4 percent said the most important and highly valued thing was their careers.

Wu Xiaoman, 29, a designer, said marriage and family are closely tied with career. "When you fight in the battlefields of your career, you find how precious the warmth of family love is." She said her family's health and stability were a source of strength for her job. 

Only 3.5 percent of men questioned said appearance was the most important factor when looking for a wife, with 31.9 percent selecting "family responsibility," 27.3 percent “character and temper” and 25 percent “morals.”

Zhou Min, 28, a sales assistant, said putting appearance first when seeking a spouse was "too immature and unwise."

"Family responsibility" was also chosen by 49.6 percent of women when asked about prospective husbands, followed by "character and temper" (16.5 percent), "integrity and virtue" (15.6 percent), “knowledge” (7.9 percent) and "money and power" (4.7 percent).

A life with both a wife and a female confidant was also found to be highly sought by men in the survey: 73.7 percent thought friendships with women were equally important to those with other men, and 4.4 percent that they were more important.

Of the women, 77.1 percent thought friendships with men were equally important to those with women, and 4.4 percent also said they were more important.

(China.org.cn by Zhang Rui, September 18, 2005)