MOSCOW, January 12 (RIA Novosti) - A 107-year-old woman from the southern Chinese province of Chongqing is looking for a fellow centenarian to tie the knot with for the first time, a regional paper said on Monday.

Wang Guiying, who was afraid to marry when she was younger, now worries about becoming a burden to her elderly relatives, the youngest of whom is now 60.

Wang told the newspaper that the reason for not getting married earlier was the traditional way of life in the region. In her childhood, Chinese women had few rights in the family and were treated badly by their husbands. She often saw her male relatives scolding and beating their wives and sometimes found her aunt crying in the woodshed after an attack.

"All couples... lived that way," she said, adding that getting married was simply "too frightening."

Local authorities have advised the woman and her family to put out a newspaper advertisement and to get in touch with Chinese retirement homes.