Dutch Man hospitalised after waiting 10 days at China airport for online lover

Alexander Peter Cirk, 41, refused to leave Changsha Huanghua International airport in Hunan after his online girlfriend, known as Zhang, failed to turn up.

Mr Cirk was eventually taken to the hospital suffering from physical exhaustion, according to Hunan TV.

Alexander was wheeled away on a wheelchair. He was rushed to hospital to be treated for exhaustion

He told the channel he had met Ms Zhang through a messaging app two months before and that they had planned for him to visit her.

 

Mr Cirk was found with glamorous pictures of Ms Zhang on his mobile phone

Ms Zhang, 26, reportedly got in touch with the TV channel the day after to report her side of the story, explaining she "thought it was a joke". She confirmed she did not expect Mr Cirk to make the 5,400 mile one-way trip from his home city Amsterdam to Changsha.

She told Hunan TV:

“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.”

Ms Zhang added that she had been away having plastic surgery with her phone turned off while Mr Cirk was waiting at the airport.

She says she called Mr Cirk in hospital, after which they had a two hour conversation and discussed the Dutch man's ordeal. The Chinese woman said it was 'inconvenient' for her to return to Changsha to see Mr Cirk, but asked that medical staff look after him well.

Mr Cirk reportedly flew back to the Netherlands shortly after being treated in hospital.

Despite the failed first meeting Ms Zhang is said to be hoping to continue their online relationship.

Commenters on the Chinese social media platform Weibo were unimpressed by Mr Cirk's antics and few of them had sympathy for his plight.

Referring to the stylized photos Mr Cirk were showing off on his phone of Ms Zhang , one user said: 'Doesn't he know that everything in China is fake?'

Another user added: 'Perhaps she did go to the airport, saw what he looked like, and promptly turned back around.'