Two models offer guidance to an audience at an exhibition regarding reproductive health and sex culture in Wuhan, Hubei Province on December 31, 2005. Photo: CFP

By Yang Jie

About 70 percent of Chinese men are dissatisfied with their sex lives, with long-term work pressures and mental stress considered the greatest threat to men's health, a survey shows.

An investigative report to determine the sexual happiness index of Chinese men was released in Beijing on Saturday. Initiated by the Chinese Medical Development Research Council, the survey received a total 32,652 valid replies in five months, according to qianlong.com.

The survey reported that Chinese men have sex more frequently than Westerners do. About 67 percent of the interviewees have sex two to five times per month, while only 3 percent do it less than once a month.

However, quality remains depressingly low. When asked to comment on their sexual activities in the past month, 36 percent showed dissatisfaction, while 40 percent enjoyed satisfactory sex occasionally. Only 0.5 percent were satisfied with every act of copulation.

Meanwhile, over 14 percent of those surveyed struggle with sexual malfunction or psychosexual disorders, according to the Wen Wei Po.

A survey by Durex last year showed that only 24 percent of Chinese men and women said they can often climax. The global average is 48 percent.

Employment was considered the source of the highest pressure on men, largely leading to the decline of their sex lives. Over 47 percent felt stressed during their work, and as many as 68 percent are pestered by anxiety, insomnia, dreams and fatigue, the report said.

In spite of these health concerns, very few people surveyed turned to exercise. Less than 1 percent said they exercise once a week, and 75 percent said they had no time for sports.

"It's a fact that more and more men are enjoying low-quality sex," said Jia Jianchen, 27, who works for a Beijing advertising company, "but work pressure should not be the most important factor.

"A traditional conservative view towards sex could be blamed for this. It means Chinese couples have very little sexual knowledge and few skills, and that they refuse to communicate with each other when they feel disharmony in their sex lives," Jia added.

"Men used to be wild beasts, but now they're chickens," a Web user commented at sohu.com.