Shanghai residents are tying the knot much later than their parents, mainly thanks to career-driven lifestyles.

Last year the average age of city men who wed for the first time was 28.64, and women 26.43, according to statistics released by the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau. The average figure for downtown men was 29, or even older.

Both the average age of men and women was six months older than in 2006.

"Now people don't get married as soon as they grow up; they want to develop their careers first," said Zhou Jixiang, director of the bureau's marriage-management division.

Another reason is that an increasing number of people don't want to get married until they've experienced single life to the fullest, he said.

A case in point is Wang Yingjia, a 25-year-old employee at an auto company. He wants to get married at the age of 30 to 32. "I think by then I will have idled to my heart's content, and it will be time to settle down."

Meanwhile, divorce numbers in the city declined last year for the first time since record-keeping began, down about 0.8 percent from the 2006 figure.

Reasons for divorce have gone beyond personal differences, the marriage division said. Children's education, family disputes, living in different places and tight economic conditions have all contributed to the rate.

However, the August Olympic Games make the year "hot" for getting married and expecting a "Fuwa" child. The Shanghai Wedding Trade Association said about 135,000 couples are expected to hold weddings this year, about 10,000 more than last year.

The May Day holiday, October "Golden Week" and August 8, the day when the Games raises the curtain, are the three peak wedding times.

Hotels and restaurants are almost booked out for wedding banquets during the National Day holiday running from October 1 to 7.

Although the May Day holiday has been reduced to one day, wedding plans have not been adversely affected.

And more than 175,000 "Olympic babies" will be born this year, 15,000 more than last year when many wanted to have a "Golden Pig" baby, the Shanghai Population and Family Planning Association said.