Batches of bachelors

Leftover women or an unappreciated feast?

The truth is out there somewhere

Lu says he doesn't want to marry merely to follow social norms, even if society deems him an aging bachelor. He's waiting for the right lifelong partner.

"I think the most important aspect is how you get along with the person, that you feel comfortable being yourself with her," says Lu, a self-described introvert.

"How does she treat her family, friends, even animals? Can she put up with your habits? And can you do the same with hers?"

In today's China, it's not only impoverished men in the countryside who face difficulties finding wives. Urban men with good educations, secure jobs and property are also becoming part of a group called shengnan, or leftover men - men 30 and older who remain unmarried.

A 2013 national survey of leftover men by matchmaking site Jiayuan.com found 36 percent of respondents worked as middle or senior managers and 37 percent possessed a master's degree or higher.

About 29 percent had monthly incomes of at least 15,000 yuan ($2,480), and 31 percent owned homes.

Legions of Chinese men will never find Chinese wives because there simply aren't enough candidates.

As a result of China's family planning policy, which restricts many couples to one child, along with the traditional Chinese preference for sons, the latest official figures say 117.7 boys are born for every 100 girls in the country.

The imbalance peaked at 121.2 to 100 in 2004. The natural birth ratio is 105 boys per 100 girls.

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