Although we live in a society where marriage is the norm, increasing numbers of men and women are choosing to skip the nuptial vow.

A fourth tide of "singles" is hitting the country, Chen Yaya, an assistant researcher with the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said at a national forum on domestic issues in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, recently.

Take Beijing for example. More than 1 million houses in the city are occupied by singles aged 32 years and above - unmarried, divorced or widowed. The figure was about 100,000 in 1990.