Students feel family pressure to get married

A survey has found that more than 30 percent of university students were pressured by their families to take part in a blind date or matchmaking when they returned home during the recent Spring Festival holiday, according to a report by China Youth Daily.

Of the 927 students polled across the country by China University Media Union, 27 percent said their families had urged them to consider a blind date or matchmaking, as they were worried about their single status, while 6 percent said their families had planned a blind date or matchmaking for them.

Matchmaking is a traditional way for single Chinese men and women to meet. It has become especially popular amid the rising number of so-called leftover people - individuals who have passed what is considered the prime age for marriage without finding a partner.

Zhao Ming, a student at a university in Tianjin, said he is anxious about being single because most of his peers are getting married.

He said his parents had arranged for him to meet three potential partners during the holiday, adding that it is an effective way to meet a partner.

However, not everyone shares Zhao's view. The survey found that 28 percent polled said they reject the idea of matchmaking or blind dates.

Wang Lin, a student at a university in Beijing, said she would rather find her true love by herself and not have her partner chosen for her by her parents.

Some students said they do not like the idea of matchmaking or blind dates because they believe that two people should start as friends and get to know each other before they commit to a relationship, said Zhou Jun, a psychology teacher at China Youth University of Political Studies.

Liao Zhengtao, a psychology lecturer at Southwest Minzu University, said it's normal for the younger generation to marry late - something which was rarely seen in their parents' generation.

"As society and the economy develops and people become wealthier, it is natural for young people to be nurtured for longer by their family," Liao said.