When 28-year-old Zhang Kunwei took to Douban, a social networking service, to advertise for a partner, he did not expect to spark a series of conversations on dating expectations in China.

His post went viral in late March and saw a flood of comments, some of which mocked him ruthlessly.

Dating ad

Zhang's post detailed his personal background, such as completing his education at Tsinghua University, and working for JPMorgan and Google, Global Times reported.

Now, he is a teacher in his hometown in North China's Shanxi Province as he prefers the "work-life balance", according to SCMP.

He also claimed to earn over 50,000 yuan (about S$10,200) a month. While some may consider this unlikely considering his day job, his post claimed that he also makes money on the side by coaching gamers and taking up computer programming gigs.

The post also included a photo of him in the desert.

Ridiculed and shamed for appearance

The post went viral on Weibo, where netizens were quick to ridicule him for his appearance.

Some called him "ugly" and "mediocre", with others saying that he's "over-confident".

One also referred to him as "greasy" (a Chinese slang referring to chubby middle-aged men who are sleazy).

Another discussion on Weibo included comments reflecting how women in China do not solely consider wealth when looking for a partner.

Some young people cited by Global Times said that an increasing number of Chinese women are focusing on personality and "vibe".

Zhang: "There won't be a third time"

He later responded to the entire incident with a lengthy post saying how he has never been popular in school and knows that he is a "nerd".

Zhang also talked about the "reality" where someone has to be wealthy, handsome and have a lot of free time to find a partner.

This is the second time Zhang has put out an ad on the platform.

He said that the first time, he claimed to only earn 3,000 yuan, saying that he would have "a lot of time" to spend on the relationship. He was reportedly ridiculed then, by people who told him: "You don't deserve a girlfriend if you don't have money".

In the second round, he said that he put in a lot of hard work into earning money, but was then told that he should still put in effort to maintain his appearance.

"Looking at things, there won't be a third time," he said.

Top photo via Douban & Weibo.