Diabetic Dutch man falls ill after 10-day wait for Chinese love interest

A 41-year-old diabetic Dutch man has been hospitalized after spending 10 days waiting at Changsha Huanghua International Airport for a 26-year-old Chinese woman he met online, according to reports.

Alexander Pieter Cirk, from Amsterdam, was declared unfit to fly following the prolonged stay at the airport, which doctors said put undue stress on his heart and kidneys.

He had met the Chinese woman, surnamed Zhang, two months ago through a social networking application, and decided to come visit her in Changsha, capital of Central China's Hunan province. But Zhang never showed.

She later told Hunan Economic Television that Cirk had not given her advance notice of his visit and she was surprised when she learned about it through media reports. She had undergone plastic surgery in another city and did not want to meet Cirk as her face was covered in gauze, she said.

The pair spoke on the phone following Cirk's hospitalization and the exchange was "sweet", according to local media reports.

Cirk, whose condition has now stabilized, will soon have to leave China because his visa has nearly expired.

Zhang said she would try to continue their relationship.

Liang Shuang contributed to this story.