In what seems like a story straight out of a movie, a man who was separated from his family as a child has finally reunited with his father more than two decades later in China.

According to reports, 28-year-old Zheng Yunpeng was just four years old when he got separated from his parents at a railway station in China’s Liaoning province in 2001. At the time, one of his uncles had briefly left him alone to buy ice cream, but the child went missing during that short moment.

Zheng was later taken to a government welfare centre, where he was given the name Shen Huabi. In 2005, he was adopted by a Canadian couple and moved to Canada. However, the couple later divorced, and neither showed much interest in raising him. He was eventually placed with another family, where he also struggled to receive proper care.

At the time Zheng went missing, his father was in prison, while his mother had separated from his father and remarried.

After completing his education and starting work, Zheng began searching for his biological family. In 2025, he contacted a Chinese organisation called “Baby Returning Home,” which helps reunite missing children with their families.

The organisation collected Zheng’s blood samples and matched them with China’s national DNA database, eventually identifying his parents.

“After 24 years, when I saw his photo, I immediately knew he was my son because he looked exactly like me,” his father said.

Before their meeting, his father even transferred 10,000 yuan to Zheng.

Zheng has yet to meet his mother, who currently lives in another province. Now a Canadian citizen, Zheng is expected to return to Canada in the coming weeks due to visa-related issues.