Zou Qingfeng admitted he even "shocked himself" when he held up a poster in front of a downtown supermarket to tell the public he wanted to find a woman to marry.

"I want to start a family life but have no other way of finding my love," it read.

Zou, a farmer from Quzhou city, eastern Zhejiang province, has been working as a plasterer for seven years in the provincial capital city of Hangzhou.

"I never had a female co-worker to date and I'm not open enough to find a girlfriend in disco bars," he said.

At 29, Zou said he was too old for girls in his rural hometown who normally got married at about 20.

"I feel guilty because of my mother," he said. "She worried so much about me."

Zou said his mother died of cerebral hemorrhage last year. "She was about to pray to Bodhisattva for me to find my better half."

Zou's bravery might bring him good luck after all, because within hours of his public announcement, several girls dialed the number he left on the poster.

But few transient laborers are as brave.

Hong Guorui, a 30-year-old farmer from the northwestern Gansu province, could only smile a bitter smile when asked about his love life.

"I'd love to have someone at my side, but I don't have any chance to meet a girl," Hong said.

In an extreme case, a rural worker from the eastern Anhui province jumped off a high-rise building in downtown Hangzhou in early February.

Police investigation showed the man, 36, had "bought" a "wife" from a human trafficker, a peasant woman from the central Henan province, but sent her home shortly after he found out she was already married and had children at home. He was so stressed out after the incident that he killed himself.

A recent survey by the Zhejiang People's Hospital shows 90 percent of the 200 transient workers surveyed, all aged between 20 and 40, feel "lonely" in cities, while 35 percent of them are not happy with their love life.

"If not vented properly, their stress could lead to alcoholism, suicide, rape and even murder in the worst cases," said a psychiatrist.

In China, more than 90 million rural people have left their home villages to work in urban areas. Dubbed as transient workers, most of them would return home several years later, but many of them prefer to stay on.

Tang Mian, a native citizen of Hangzhou, has opened a special matchmaking club for the transient workers and received more than 130 members within the first month, including two from other cities.

"Members of the club include security guards, chauffeurs, tailors, chefs, construction workers and other blue collar laborers," said Tang. "Membership is free. I just want them to have someone to talk to. Life is not easy for these young people."

Liu Qinglei, 33, is a high earner in the club. The technician from the neighboring Jiangsu province is making 1,800 yuan (US$216) a month.

Liu said he hoped to find a spouse at the club. "A family life will probably make me feel less estranged in the hustling city."

Yao Zhiping, a business owner who employs many transient workers, said he hoped more rural laborers would get married and settle down in the city. "I like to employ rural couples, because a man tends to be more responsible and hard-working with a woman at his side."

Tang said she wanted to invite all the members on a spring outing, but too few women had registered. "We have 120 men but only 15 girls."

Yi Rong, a professor with the Zhejiang University, said this was because more men than women had come to work in cities. "Besides, a peasant girl might have the chance to marry an urban man, but city girls are not likely to marry men from the countryside. City life is therefore harder for rural men."

Aware of the gender imbalance, some areas in Zhejiang have encouraged more single peasant girls to work as housemaids and janitors in cities.

"Transient workers themselves often feel they are disadvantaged in the city," said Prof. Yi. "With a loved one and a cozy nest, they tend to feel secure and less hostile towards the city."

(Xinhua News Agency March 21, 2004)