China is growing so fast that people there don't even have the time to make friends.

They may be making money, but all that money doesn't seem to buy them one thing - love.

Yesterday was Qixi Festival, China's equivalent of Valentine's Day, but the number of youngsters forced to spend their days and nights alone is increasing.

Xiang Yong, a 31-year-old bachelor, told Chinese news agency Xinhua: "I feel lonely when I see my friends spending time with their lovers."

A 27-year-old woman surnamed Li said that her daily commute takes her three hours each way.

Exhausted after work, she doesn't feel like moving when she gets home, let alone going out on a date.

The increasing loneliness has got to do with the fallout of the booming economy. The cost of living in large cities has gone up, so have real estate prices.

Young women first value the economic status of any possible future husbands before they decide to marry.

Cars and apartments have replaced sewing machines and bicycles as must-have items for marriage.

Soaring real estate prices have put the brakes on youngsters trying to start a family, the report said.

In South China's Guangdong province, a survey conducted among single women found that about two-thirds of them regard housing as a top priority when choosing a partner.

"Without our own apartment, our marriage will not have a future," a Guangzhou native surnamed Zheng told Xinhua. She said she rejected her boyfriend's proposal because he couldn't afford to buy an an apartment.

A man surnamed Niu, 29, said: "I don't know what to do but to postpone our wedding. I'm afraid my girlfriend will leave me if I don't get an apartment. She is also under a lot of pressure from her parents."

Some young Chinese have opted for simple marriages, doing away with the traditional dowry-esque trappings of cars and apartments. But these marriages are not finding favour with parents who believe that economic status should trump all other conditions.

More challenges

Other factors have also created challenges for singles - some young Chinese pursue jobs that take them away from their homes for extended periods of time.

Rising divorce rates have also played a role in the rising number of singles, Xinhua reported.

The divorce rate has seen a seven-year increase, according to the China Statistical Yearbook. More than 5,000 couples divorced every day in China during the first quarter of this year, up 17 per cent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences' assistant researcher Chen Yaya told Xinhua: "A large number of people are choosing to be single, which has resulted in a new social tide."

Statistics from the All-China Women's Federation show that China has 180 million people who are old enough to be legally married, but are not.

Experts attribute a lack of social activities and a tendency to stay at home after work to the increasing number of singles, which is changing social structures, with more people believing that marriage does not have to be the end goal of their romantic pursuits.

But sociologists think it should not be encouraged.

Sociologist Wang Laihua said: "Being single is a common social phenomenon, but it should not be advocated."

She added that an increasing number of singles may lead to fewer babies being born each year. This factor, combined with China's rapidly ageing population, may create labour shortages in the future.

But not everybody is bemoaning their status as single. A 27-year-old woman surnamed Deng said that she is content as a single person as it makes her "feel free".

"I don't think it's necessary to get married, because that means you have to shoulder more responsibilities," she was quoted as saying.

This article was first published in The New Paper.