Income is the biggest factor that affects Chinese people's happiness, followed by health, marriage, family, housing and social security, the survey found.
Li Juan, an expert at Institute of Psychology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said different groups of people have different priorities when it comes to the factors that affect their happiness. Health is the most important factor for senior citizens, while for working-age people income is the most important because they have financial pressures.
"I think marriage and health are the most important things, although income can really affect my happiness because it has a direct impact on health and marriage," said Yuan Jingyi, who works at a construction design company in Beijing.
Yuan, 31, had a daughter a year ago and earns around 8,000 yuan a month.
"Of course I expect a higher income because I want to provide better conditions for the growth of my baby and the family," she said.
Xia Xueluan, a sociologist with Peking University, said the findings of both surveys have shown people's urgent longing for higher income. In China the wage level is still comparatively low, he said.
Landmark building should respect the public's feeling