On the morning of april 28, in An Binh town, Shenxi district, Hunan province, Wang Guilan reunited with her son Xiang Mengqian. Local police and volunteers witnessed and assisted the event. "Our family searched for decades, and finally found him", Wang said.

Wang Guilan reunites with her son Xiang Mengqian in An Binh town, Shenxi district, Hunan province on 28/4. Photo: Sina

According to case records, on 26/5/1996, Xiang Mengqian, then 4 years old, disappeared while playing outside his home. Police identified the perpetrator as Liu, Wang's sister's ex-boyfriend. At the time, her sister was working far away and had not informed the family that she had broken up with Liu.

Liu came to the house, falsely claiming that Wang's sister had asked him to take the child to play and then send him to his maternal grandparents' home. As Liu had visited many times before, Wang trusted him to take her son. Two days later, when relatives from the maternal side came to inquire, the family discovered the abduction. Wang and her husband searched extensively for 30 years without success.

In 3/2026, with the support of the police, village officials, and the volunteer network of the "Baobei Huijia" (Baby Come Home) organization, blood samples were collected. Authorities used DNA database matching and unexpectedly found a match, confirming Xiang Mengqian's identity after 30 years.

Police investigation revealed that after being abducted, one family adopted Xiang Mengqian, renaming him Zheng Zhixu. His life over the past three decades was difficult. From a young age, his adoptive sister and adoptive grandmother disclosed that he was an adopted child due to his different appearance. As he grew older, his marriage failed, and his daughter went with his ex-wife, leaving him often living in solitude. The pressures and emotional void regarding his origins led him to suffer from depression for a long time.

Xiang Mengqian reunites with his family on 28/4 and a photo taken at 4 years old before his disappearance. Photo: Sina

During the reunion, Wang's husband took out an old photo kept for 30 years to compare with his son. The family stated that Xiang Mengqian was born on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, affectionately nicknamed "Mid-Autumn".

"Before, I didn't dare to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, but now our family has a complete festival season", Wang said.

For his part, Xiang Mengqian said he would move his household registration back to his hometown to live closer to his family.

Minh Phuong (according to 163.com, Sina, QQ News)