Elderly women in Beijing are less likely to remarry after their spouses pass away than their male counterparts, reports Beijing Evening News.

Statistics from the Beijing Marriage and Family Research Association show that 76.8 per cent of elderly men are married, compared with 51.9 per cent of older women.

An elderly man tends to look for a new wife on the basis of whether she can take care of him for the rest of his life, while an elderly woman is more concerned with economic circumstances.

Therefore, elderly men usually choose younger, healthier women as their wives, said Bai Enliang, deputy chairman of the municipal association of senior citizens.

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