Surrounded with controversy concerning morality, reality and truth, the latest phenomenon on Chinese TV screens, dating show Feichengwurao (If You Are The One) is winning the provincial programming ratings game, pipping long time leader Kuailedabenying (Joyful Base Camp) from its 13-year No.1 spot, to come out on top for the 6th week in a row, but how much of it is real?

Feichengwurao contestants backstage. [Global Times]

"We have signed agreements with each participant of the show; they take responsibility to speak the truth about themselves, we unfortunately don't have much time to carry out investigations on them," Feichengwurao producer Wang Gang told the Global Times.

Known for its great variety of participants, including nurses, PhD holders, models, restaurant owners and emergency workers, online forums and chatrooms are rife with the validity of Feichengwurao contestants' actual professions, ages and identities.

"We need to choose different participants, it's their various stories that attract viewers," Wang explained.

Feichengwurao features a single man introduced to 24 female contestants, each of whom have the opportunity to progress through the show and compete for a date with him.

Contestant No. 1, 22-year-old Xie Jia, has attracted the most controversy so far. Claiming to enter the show in the search of true love, an article posted on her university's website revealed that she is a performance show management major at Beijing Contemporary Music Academy (BCMA) and has been interning at Jiangsu Satellite channel, Feichengwurao's producer.

"The real purpose for her is to do school work? I feel cheated and I doubt if the show is honest," Feichengwurao fan Xiao Lu told the Global Times.

What's more, Xie admitted to being gay, declaring on her Sina blog last Monday that she was a lesbian before she was 21 and now, at age 22, she is straight.

Male contestant Liu Yunchao has also come under fire. Claiming to be an "affluent second generation" who owns three sports cars and has 6 million yuan (US$880,000) in his bank account, rumor has it that he doesn't come from a wealthy family at all and is in fact, yet another student at BCMA with his sights set on fame.

Liu recently reared his head at Hunan Satellite channel's Kuailenansheng's (Super Boy) auditions in Hebei Province, attempting to enter the show's singing competition and somewhat qualifying the rumor.