The second wave lasted from the late 1970s and didn't end until 1985.

In 1976, with the end of 10 years of turmoil under the "cultural revolution," most of the 16 million urban men and women who had gone to work in "the vast countryside" returned to the cities, and a large number of them were not married.

The government, trade unions and women's associations were active in finding them spouses. In the early 1980s, "matching agencies," which arranged for blind dates sprang up like mushrooms in the cities.

Even so, a considerable number of men and women did not marry, Hao said.

Some of them, now in their 50s, were forgotten by society. During the reforms of the new century, they were laid off or had to retire early.

In the two previous waves, men and women couldn't wait to say, "I do."

But this time they are not that eager and know many ways to avoid what traditionalists might call the sting of single life. These career women have one another. They have dinner together often and go to yoga courses or fitness clubs.

"Sometimes I do have the impulse to love someone," Anita Wang said.

So, she recently paid US$1,000 for a poodle.