Dutchman waits for no-show girlfriend in Chinese airport for 10 days

When Alexander Pieter Cirk flew from the Netherlands to Changsha in China he was expecting to finally meet his girlfriend for the first time - but unfortunately all did not go to plan.

The 41-year-old Dutchman was clearly devastated when he landed in China only to find that there was no one there to meet him, so instead of leaving the airport in search of Zhang, 26, he decided to wait there.

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Cirk was so determined to meet his new love he waited at the airport for 10 days before he was taken away by Chinese emergency services as it became clear he was suffering from exhaustion, the Standard reports.

Chinese news service, CCTV News, posted pictures of the man on their Facebook page and explained how Cirk had come to be in this situation.

They said: "Like many who meet on the Internet and get to know each other, the 41-year-old continued to chat with the 26-year-old: despite being 4,500 kilometres away and the six-hour time difference, their romance blossomed."

They went on to explain that the Dutchman began to look frail after 10 days of waiting in the airport and he was later rushed to hospital.

So, what happened to his girlfriend that kept her away from meeting her new man?

Zhang told a local news station: "We had advanced our romantic relationship but later he seemed a little callous toward me."

She added: "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 admitted she hadn't been contactable while Cirk was in the airport as she was undergoing a plastic surgery procedure in a hospital in a different city.

It's understood that after a stay in hospital Cirk booked a return flight back to the Netherlands without meeting his girlfriend, he is thought to have travelled back yesterday (Monday).