China's younger generation is tasting the "forbidden fruit" of sexual intercourse at earlier ages compared with their predecessors, according to a report by Peking University's Center for Social Surveys that was released on Sunday.

People younger than 20 had their first sex with a person of the opposite sex at age 17 on average, the report said.

For those 35 or older, the average age for first sex was 22.

The report was based on about 80,000 questionnaires collected across the Chinese mainland plus Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

The average age for first heterosexual experience varied by region. Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao ranked youngest, with most respondents reporting their first sexual intercourse at age 19.

On the mainland, people from metropolises such as Beijing, Guangzhou or Shanghai had sex first at a slightly older age - 20 on average - while respondents from other regions mostly tried sex at 22.

"Love and sex are no longer taboo among the younger generation in China, thanks to the increased opening up of society," said Zhou Xiaozheng, a sociologist at Renmin University of China in Beijing.

He said TV dramas and movies about love and sex have boomed in recent years, and young people have more ways to learn and understand love affairs through mass media.

yangwanli@chinadaily.com.cn