Survey discovers women reluctant to date poor men

BEIJING - 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.