Screenshot from surveillance camera shows a young woman feds a man a corn cob while at work. (File photo/xyzd.cn)

Nearly half of Chinese disapprove of public displays of affection while the most tolerated type of intimate act is a hug, a survey by Southern Metropolis Daily shows.

The survey shows that 47 percent think displaying affection publicly neglects the feelings of others and can be a bad influence. Another 42 percent say they are OK with such behavior but do not support it themselves.

A teacher born in the 1960s said she cannot tolerate any public shows of affection, such as couples kissing on a bus. The teacher from Huizhou city in Guangdong province thinks "it's just for the thrill, not true love."

Some 11 percent say it makes them feel nice to see other people display affection because it is part of the beauty of being in love.

Respondents generally accept the act of hugging, though 43 percent object to kissing in a public place, 73 percent to acts like touching, and as much as 95 percent to more explicit sexual behavior.

Song Zuohai, a teacher of social sciences at Huizhou University, said public attitudes towards certain behavior change with time while men and women were not allowed to hold hands in public in times past, for example.

However, he said increasing public acceptance does not necessary make an act OK. Corruption, for example, is increasingly seen as a public norm yet is against the law, it was added.