Census figures for China show that around one in five women aged 25-29 is unmarried.

普查数据显示，在中国25-29岁间的女性中，5人中就有1人未婚。

The proportion of unmarried men that age is higher - over a third. But that doesn't mean they will easily match up, since Chinese men tend to "marry down", both in terms of age and educational attainment.

这个年龄段的未婚男性比例更高，超过三分之一，但这并不意味着他们就能轻易相配。中国的男性更喜欢“低娶”，所谓的“低”包括年龄和教育程度。

"There is an opinion that A-quality guys will find B-quality women, B-quality guys will find C-quality women, and C-quality men will find D-quality women," says Huang Yuanyuan. "The people left are A-quality women and D-quality men. So if you are a leftover woman, you are A-quality."

黄媛媛这样描述这种现状：“一流男人找二流女人，二流男人找三流女人，三流男人找四流女人，剩下的就只有一流女人和四流男人。如果你是剩女，你就是一流女人。”

But it's the "A-quality" of intelligent and educated women that the government most wants to procreate, according to Leta Hong-Fincher. She cites a statement on population put out by the State Council - China's cabinet - in 2007.

而根据丽塔·洪-芬奇的观点，这群“一流”的聪明知识女性，正是中国想要培养的对象。她援引了中国国务院在2007年发表的一份人口报告。

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