The survey of 2,252 respondents in seven cities, including Beijing, Shanghai,
Xi'an and Guangzhou, shows that people between 51 and 60 first had sex at an
average age of 26, those between 21 and 30 first had sex at 21.9 on average.
The result of this massive face-to-face survey was no surprise to Chinese
sociologists.
"The opening-up of Chinese society and early arrival of puberty have
contributed to this change in sexual behaviour," said Prof Zhou Xiaozheng, head
of the Institute of Sociology of Renmin University in Beijing.
Sex used to be taboo in traditional Chinese society. But today, sex products
are available to almost everyone in the cities, from Internet or on DVDs.
The average age for all respondents, who were aged between 14 and 60, to have
sex was 22.9. The younger the respondents, the earlier they claimed they first
had sex.
