A growing number of Hong Kong women are setting their sights on the mainland to seek a spouse because of the gender ratio imbalance in Hong Kong.

It is estimated that one in six women marries outside Hong Kong.

Last year alone, more than 3,500 Hong Kong women married mainland men.

Hong Kong now has more than 1.5 million women aged between 25 and 49. Around 400,000 of them are still single.

(Chinanews.com February 8, 2006)