BEIJING -- A recent survey by China Youth Daily found that 71.9 percent of young people expect public policies to encourage marriage among young people.

Of the 1,764 surveyed between 18 and 35 years old, 64.7 percent anticipate government-subsidized housing and nearly 50 percent expect extended maternity and marriage leave.

Wang Xiaoyan, a 27-year-old woman, hoped that both maternity and paternity leave could be guaranteed.

Nearly two-thirds of the respondents expect to marry between 26 and 29, and 67.5 percent said that the high cost of marriage and raising children stopped them from getting married at a young age.

"We hope the government can raise the subsidies for school-age children and address the discrimination against women in employment to reduce parental stress," said Tu Lili, a 27-year-old woman living in Guangdong Province.

For some young people, a stable income is a precondition for marriage, so they focus on putting money away before tying the knot, said Zhou Xiaopeng, a senior psychological counselor.

Zhou also suggests that couples should be emotionally mature and independent, and share the same values in marriage.