Parents reunite with their kidnapped son after 24 years 1:03
Hong Kong (CNN) -
A man who was kidnapped as a child in China more than 30 years ago was reunited with his parents thanks to social media, online detectives and a crude map made from memory.
Li Jingwei was only 4 years old when he was abducted by a man he knew from his family's village in southwestern Yunnan province in 1988. He was taken to live with another family in central Henan province, where he grew up, according to the news outlet. state news The Paper.
Still small, Li realized that he had been taken away from home, but had no way of returning even after growing up, he told The Paper.
He did not remember his birth name, his parents' names, or the name of his village.
But he did remember what his hometown was like: where trees grew, cows grazed, roads twisted, and rivers flowed.
He remembered the rice paddies and ponds near his home, and where bamboo shoots grew on the nearby mountain.
As a child, whenever he missed home or was sad, he would draw a picture of his village, eventually drawing it at least once a day, he told The Paper.
Child abduction has long been rampant in China, a problem that experts say was exacerbated by the country's longstanding one-child policy, which has been relaxed in recent years.
For decades, those who had a second child were heavily fined or forced to have an abortion.
Many Chinese families, especially those in rural areas, traditionally viewed children as better able to maintain and continue the family line.
This demand fueled a black market for baby boys and prompted many families to put girls up for adoption.
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In recent years, dedicated technology, social media and police departments have helped several now-adult abductees reunite with their biological families.
One high-profile case was that of Guo Xinzhen, who was abducted in 1997 when he was 2 years old.
His parents' desperate search across the country to find him inspired a movie and, last summer, their find and widely publicized reunion.
Parents reunite with their kidnapped son after a 14-year search that inspired a hit movie
Recent success stories inspired Li to try again to find her parents.
So he drew a memory map of his hometown and shared it online.
His childhood practice of drawing it on a daily basis paid off: the sketch shows a remarkable level of detail including winding paths, houses and highways, even a label showing where the water buffalo lived.
"So many years have passed, I don't know if someone in my family is looking for me," Li said in a video posted on the Chinese video platform Douyin.
"I want to be able to see my parents again while they are still here."
The photo was widely shared on social media, drawing the attention of the Ministry of Public Security, which became involved in the investigation, according to The Paper and other state media.
Soon, authorities located Li's alleged biological mother in Zhaotong City, Yunnan.
Authorities took samples of their DNA for comparison and confirmed their relationship on December 28.
After the DNA match, Li had a video call with her mother and recognized her immediately.
"My mother and I have the same lips, even my teeth," he said.
Several days later, on the morning of January 1, they met at a Henan police station.
The video of the reunion, widely shared by state media and on social media, shows Li falling at the feet of his mother and the couple embracing in tears, surrounded by supporters and other members of their biological family.
"I finally found my baby," Li's mother said, according to The Paper.
The couple thanked the public security department for their participation in the investigation and for the volunteers and online users who helped locate the village with the help of their map.
Li now plans to spend the Lunar New Year in February with her mother and return to Yunnan to visit her biological father's grave.
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