Sam's still a Chinese bachelor

MICHELLE COOKE

Kiwi Sam Pearson may not have found love on a Chinese dating show, but he did find 1000 followers on Asia's version of Twitter.

Kiwi Sam Pearson may not have found love on a Chinese dating show, but he did find 1000 followers on Asia's version of Twitter.

And that's just the number of people who have started following him since his Sunday night appearance on the show, Fei Cheng Wu Rao, which aired to an estimated 300 million people.

A search for the former Wellingtonian's name on Baidu, China's version of Google, returns more than 70,000 results and imposters are already setting up social media accounts in his name.

Pearson, 34, was chosen to appear on China's version of The Bachelor last month.

Although at least three marriages and countless relationships have developed on the show, Pearson went home alone and missed out on a free trip to Greece because he didn't find a match.

The speed dating show saw Pearson interviewed by 24 women, who chose whether they wanted to find out more about him or had heard enough.

At the start he had signalled a girl he was interested in, but she decided not to pursue a relationship after he told the audience he was a part-time DJ and longed to return to New Zealand.

It came down to three girls, one which Pearson had to send home. He then brought the other girl back out and spoke with her on stage, trying to convince her that they would make a good match, but he couldn't.

Now he's left searching for love in a more traditional way.

But as a tall New Zealander living in the heart of China, Pearson isn't going to go unnoticed and he's going to stand out even more now his face has been plastered across TV screens nationwide.

Since the show aired neighbours have stopped him, women have sent him pictures - some, oddly, without their heads - and one woman even paid the show to give her his phone number.

"That put me off a bit. I don't think it's the best way to start a relationship with a bribe."

Pearson had never watched a dating show in his life before he was selected for Fei Cheng Wu Rao and he says it was "the strangest experience of my life".

Pearson moved to China eight years ago after a three years in Japan having previously studied Japanese, Chinese and economics at Otago University.

He works as a senior sponsorship manager for the Chinese Women's Tennis Association, which is how the famous show found him.

- © Fairfax NZ News