Marry me: Mr Gong telling a chinese TV show of his quest for love.

HE's a lonely blogger pining for love online.
Nothing out of the ordinary, you might think.

Except that Dr Gong Du Ruo is 105 - and will consider it a bonus if the pretty young bride of his dreams is aged around 50.

Dr Gong a double PhD holder and a triple divorcee, posted his appeal for a wife on his blog on Wednesday, reported China Daily.

'I cannot live without love any more and I want someone to spend the rest of my life with,' Dr Gong wrote.

Dr Gong said he was looking for woman who knew a bit about medicine, and if she were as young as 50, 'that would be a plus'.

The posting made him an instant celebrity in China.

On the national television show Chinese Business Morning View on Thursday, Mr Gong said he had already received 10 replies from interested women.

One in particular, Ms Zhang, 52, had caught his eye, he said.

She had written that she was descended from a long line of physicians and had some experience as a doctor herself, he said.

When the show tracked down Ms Zhang, she was flattered.

'I went to a photo studio to take a picture for my application,' she said.

When asked about the 50-year age gap, Ms Zhang replied: 'My father is 20 years older than my mother. Anyway, an instant warm feeling ran through me when I saw his pictures online.'

However, some netizens question whether Dr Gong is seeking a wife or an unpaid apprentice.

Dr Gong, who has one PhD from the West China Union University and another from the New York State University, had said in his blog that he hopes his new wife wife will be able to help him edit his next medical book.

Ms Zhang said she was not bothered by the doubters, as she had gathered from Dr Gong's blog that he was open-minded. She believed they could live happily together.

However, it would mean that Ms Zhang, who has run a beauty parlour since her retirement in Shenyang, would have to move some 2,000km to Dr Gong's home in Baotou, in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

'I am willing to give up my business and to leave my daughter for him,' she said.

Dr Gong still treats patients at community clinic and practices qigong, a Chinese breathing exercise, every day.

However he said being happy, not work and exercise, that was the secret to his long life.