SHANGHAI, July 23 -- WANG Ni and Liu Hao, both 23, got married last week - just a month after they graduated from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

"We married for love," said Wang. "We fell in love when we were juniors. Now we want our passion to continue."

Increasing numbers of students are marrying soon after graduation in major Chinese cities.

The Civil Affairs Department of Xuhui District, Shanghai, said 1,221 university graduates aged 22 to 24 applied for marriage registration in the district last year, an increase of 50 percent since 2005.

Marriage rates for young graduates also have soared in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenyang and some other big cities, statistics from civil affairs departments show.

This is in sharp contrast to the 1990s and 1980s when many urban youngsters put off marriage until they were "old enough" - in their 30s or even 40s.

They usually spent a lot of time looking for a husband or wife with a good economic background or a beautiful face.

Analysts put the early-marriage trend down to society becoming more affluent and open.

"Quick marriage is usually a product of a comfortable life," said Sun Baohong, deputy director of the Shanghai Juvenile Research Institute.

Some graduates also think marriage makes life easier.

"We think that an early marriage is helpful to build a stable life as quickly as possible, and we thus can put our concentration on our job," said Zhu Keke, 24.

She married her college classmate Zhang Dafeng six months ago.

However, their parents still have to take care of them.

Zhu's mother gives morning calls to the couple every day and comes to clean their house every weekend.

Their parents also help with their 3,000 yuan a month housing-loan repayments.

But critics warn that marriages without enough life experience easily lead to divorce.

Statistics from Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau show 5,786 couples aged below 24 applied for divorce last year.

Among them, 970 were married less than a year and 52 less than a month.

"Marriages without thorough consideration tend to break up easily,"said Li Ziwei, an official with Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau.

"Most newly married couples were born after China's family-planning policy was adopted in the 1980s.

"They are the only child of their family and usually very self-centered, and they value personal feelings more than family responsibility."