A Dutch man who waited 10 days for his online girlfriend in a Chinese airport ended up being hospitalised.
Alexander Pieter Cirk, 41, flew from his Holland to Changsha, Hunan province, to meet his online girlfriend, 26 year old Zhang. However, Cirk arrived at Changsha airport to find no one there to greet him. Cirk then spent 10 days waiting at the airport for Zhang to show up, before being taking to hospital after suffering physical exhaustion.
Cirk had met Zhang two months ago via an app.
Zhang contacted Hunan TV after the report was broadcasted saying that she had thought it was all a joke,
“We had advanced our romantic relationship but later he seemed a little callous towards me. One day he sent me a photo of air tickets abruptly and I thought it was a joke. He didn’t contact me later.”
Zhang also said that she was having plastic surgery in a different province at the time of his arrival and had switched her phone off.
The story was met with varied reactions from Chinese netizens, as the “Foreign man went to Changsha to meet his online girlfriend” hashtag began trending on Weibo.
“He must be stupid, why would anyone do this?” asked one user. “Doesn’t he know that everything in China is fake?” said another. “Perhaps she did go to the airport, saw what he looked like, and promptly turned back around,” was a theory proposed by another user.
Others showed sympathy for the Dutchman, “Here’s a guy taking a relationship seriously, don’t play around with his feelings. “If you don’t want him anymore, tell him so he can go home,” one said. “What does this say about Chinese integrity?”, asked another.
Zhang has reportedly said she is keen to meet him after her recovery and that she is still interested in maintaining their relationship.
