College students embrace the single life

Feeling lonely and unloved on Chinese Valentine's Day? No worries. A recent survey found 71 percent of college students in China are single.

The July survey of 2,394 college students nationwide was conducted by MyCOS, an education consulting and research institute in Beijing.

Qixi Festival, also known as the Double Seventh Festival and the Chinese Valentine's Day, falls on the seventh day of the seventh month in the Chinese lunar calendar. This year's Qixi Festival falls on Friday.

More than half of college students surveyed stay single because they have a small circle of friends, while 46 percent attributed their status to shyness and pickiness.

However, 43 percent of students are single because they choose to be. They are simply not interested in being in a serious relationship at this time in their life.

Looking for true love is the most important reason for college students to enter a relationship, followed by finding companionship, passing time and having sex.

Good character is the most important factor college students are looking for in a partner, chosen by 96 percent with personality coming in second with 91 percent.

While 74 percent male students think appearances are important, female students usually have more comprehensive considerations for future partners, including health, intelligence, economic conditions and family background.