Mr. Luo, 28, finally gets to see his father and mother after 23 years, thanks to Google Maps.
A lot of young Chinese boys are kidnapped and sold to families who want sons, and Mr. Luo almost became a victim of this.
He was adopted by a couple in Fujian Province, and they raised him since he was five. Though fed, clothed, and sheltered, he still longed for his parents every night before he went to sleep.
“Everyday before I went to bed, I forced myself to relive the life spent in my old home,” he told the newspaper.
With the help of technology and a social network that aims to reunite families, he was able to get information from a netizen that a couple from Sichuan had lost its son 23 years ago.
With this information at hand and his memory of the two bridges back in his hometown, he searched Google Maps. When he found it, he exclaimed at the familiarity of the place, especially the two bridges. He knew then that he would finally make his way back home.
When he and his parents, Qingyong Huang and Jianfang Dai, met, they had an emotional reunion and the parents couldn’t express their joy.
“I felt heartbroken. I couldn’t eat or sleep and I cried every day thinking my son was missing and didn’t have enough food or clothes out there,” his mother, Mrs. Dai said.
In the absence of Jun Huang (Mr. Luo’s real name), his parents adopted a daughter to keep them company throughout the years.
