A woman in China has been reunited with her birth family more than two decades after she ran away from home as a child, in a story that has both moved and divided public opinion.
Liu Xiuhong, now 31, originally comes from a rural family in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province. At the time of her disappearance in 2004, she was living in Jieyang City, Guangdong province, with her migrant worker parents.
According to media reports, Liu went missing on March 19, 2004, when she was just nine years old. She had been playing at a friend’s house when she accidentally broke a bottle of shower gel worth around 10 yuan. Fearing punishment upon returning home, she ran away.
The young girl later became lost near a vegetable market in Jieyang. She was found that same evening by a man who took her into his home, where she was raised.
Her birth parents launched repeated efforts to find her, including public appeals broadcast on local television for several days, but the search initially yielded no results.
After 22 years, Liu was finally reunited with her biological family through a DNA matching process, supported by a charity organisation that helps reconnect missing and adopted children with their birth relatives.
State television coverage showed emotional scenes as Liu returned to her family home in Jiangxi province, where she was welcomed with banners, flowers, and firecrackers. Her mother was seen apologising tearfully for failing to protect her, while Liu also expressed remorse for running away as a child.
The reunion was later marked with a celebratory family feast.
However, the case has also sparked debate online. Some questioned why the adoptive guardian did not involve police at the time, while others suggested limited communication and lack of connectivity in 2004 may have made it difficult to trace her biological family. Others raised broader concerns and speculations about the circumstances surrounding her early years.
Despite differing opinions, the reunion has been widely described as an emotional moment for a family brought back together after more than two decades apart.