The study involved 1,785 rural households and also revealed that this issue is particularly acute in central provinces, including Henan, Hubei, and Anhui, where cultural and economic factors combine to exacerbate the marriage crisis. Part of an annual study of rural issues initiated in 2006, last year’s edition of the project focused more specifically on family building in the Chinese countryside.
Professor Huang Zhenhua, from the Institute of China Rural Studies under Central China Normal University, who led the research team and has focused on studying Chinese politics and rural issues for over 10 years, told Hongxing News that the marriage crisis for older bachelors in the countryside — defined as men over 30 — has intensified in the last decade.
