A Chinese man who went missing at the age of four and later faced years of hardship abroad has finally been reunited with his father after more than two decades, in an emotional reunion that brought closure to a long and painful separation.
Zhang Yunpeng, now 28, embraced his father Zhang Jiucheng during a tearful reunion ceremony held on March 2 in Huinan County, located in Jilin Province in northeastern China.
The father and son broke down in tears as they met after 24 years apart.
“After more than 20 years, I finally saw you,” the father said emotionally, according to local media reports. The son, speaking in hesitant Chinese after years abroad, replied: “Dad, I love you.”
Zhang Yunpeng went missing in 2001 at the busy Shenyang Railway Station in Liaoning Province when his uncle briefly left him alone to buy ice cream.
The young boy was later found and taken to a municipal welfare centre, where he was given the name Shen Huabai.
In 2005, he was adopted by a Canadian couple and taken to live in Canada.
However, just three months later, his adoptive parents divorced and neither of them was willing to take responsibility for raising him.
Authorities subsequently placed him with a host family, but life there was difficult as the household already had nine children and he received little attention or care.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yunpeng’s biological father had been serving a prison sentence at the time his son disappeared.
Following the tragedy, his wife left the family and remarried, leaving him alone with the painful memory of the missing child.
After finishing secondary school, Zhang Yunpeng had to work to support himself.
Last year, he decided to search for his biological parents after seeing several successful family reunion stories on social media.
He contacted the mainland-based organisation Baby Returning Home, which helps locate missing family members. The group arranged assistance from volunteer Gao Yang, a Chinese PhD student living in Canada.
“When I first met him, he looked miserable and extremely thin,” Gao recalled.
Zhang Yunpeng provided a blood sample, which was submitted to China’s national DNA database. Within days, authorities successfully identified his biological parents.
“The moment I saw his picture, I knew he was my son,” Zhang Jiucheng said. “He looks exactly like me. I didn’t need any further confirmation.”
Before meeting in person, the father transferred 10,000 yuan (around $1,400) to his son and promised to make up for the years they had lost.
“I will try my best to compensate him and give him the best things in life,” he said.
The emotional reunion marks the end of a 24-year search and highlights how DNA technology and volunteer organisations are helping reconnect families separated by tragedy.