On March 24, a pair of siblings separated for 33 years reunited in Xiantao City, Hubei Province. To mark the occasion, the elder sister, Li Lin, organized a grand welcome ceremony for her brother, Li Xin. A 500-meter red carpet stretched from the east gate of Liutan Park to their ancestral home, accompanied by balloons, banners, decorative arches, fireworks, and traditional music.
The event was witnessed by local residents, family members, and others still searching for their own lost relatives. Li Lin’s social media account contains over 700 videos documenting her 26-year search for her brother. Once a bystander at others’ reunions, distributing flyers in hopes of finding clues, she has now become the protagonist of her own successful reunion. Her elaborate celebration was not only for herself but also for those still on the long and difficult journey of searching for missing family members.
Li Lin and Li Xin reunited after 33 years apart.
【1】Reunion After 33 Years of Separation At 9:30 a.m., Li Xin stepped out of a car, unaware of the scene awaiting him. He had expected tears and warm welcomes from relatives and neighbors. Tall and standing out in the crowd, he saw a vast gathering of people. A man in a red scarf immediately embraced him. Both siblings received bouquets and wore matching red scarves before being swept along by the crowd toward their childhood home.
Thanks to Li Lin’s persistent efforts, Li Xin finally returned home after 33 years apart. As they walked side by side, Li Lin gradually fell behind her brother, eventually disappearing from the live broadcast footage as the crowd surrounded Li Xin. It was only after some distance that she reappeared, having fought her way back to the forefront.
For Li Lin, being separated from her brother by the crowd was a minor incident compared to the 33 years they had spent apart. In 1993, their mother passed away from illness, and their father, overcome with grief, left home. Li Lin, then under 10 years old, and Li Xin, around 5, became orphans. The following year, while in Jingshan City, Hubei Province, Li Xin was taken away by a stranger under the pretense of buying bread. Li Lin had lost all her immediate family.
She began her long search for her brother. With no parental DNA on record and only an old photograph, Officer Wang Ting of the Nanchang Railway Police in Jiangxi Province used facial recognition and DNA matching to locate Li Xin in Guangdong Province. When Li Lin received the video call from police confirming the match, she was taking out the trash. Overwhelmed, she knelt and kowtowed to the image on her phone.
From that moment, Li Lin devoted herself to preparing for the reunion. In Nanchang, Jiangxi, she welcomed her brother with a cake, and the two embraced tearfully. Back in Xiantao, Hubei, she decorated the streets near their home with banners, red balloons, arches, and a 500-meter red carpet. Amid fireworks and music, they entered their home together. In the crowded living room, they fed each other tangyuan (sweet rice balls), and when Li Lin exclaimed “sweet,” she finally felt the fulfillment of reunion.
Later, the crowd moved to a restaurant near Liutan Park for a reunion banquet. As they entered, Li Lin was once again separated from her brother, but this time Li Xin paused and waited for her to join him.
【2】A Ceremony Witnessed by Many Even before the ceremony began, crowds had gathered outside the restaurant—onlookers, relatives in red scarves, parents seeking missing children, and livestreamers. The number “33” was frequently mentioned, summarizing Li Lin’s decades of effort in just a few words.
As the siblings arrived, the stage was temporarily used to display missing persons notices, with media and families from various provinces sharing information. When the lights dimmed and the host announced the start of the ceremony, Li Lin, dressed in red and wearing a red scarf, walked arm-in-arm with her taller brother onto the stage. Behind them, others held up signs seeking missing relatives, while cameras lined the stage.
Amid uplifting music and shouts of “welcome home,” the siblings bowed to the guests. Overcome with emotion, Li Lin choked up. On stage, they exchanged gifts and embraced. Li Xin, tall and slender, bent down to wipe away his sister’s tears. He knelt to serve her tea, but Li Lin, filled with emotion, lifted him up. “From now on, I have family. I have a brother. I am no longer alone,” she said.
During family photos, relatives filled the stage, surrounding the siblings. A female relative quietly wiped away tears. For the first time in decades, Li Lin was no longer alone.
Li Lin plans to take her brother to visit their mother’s grave and continue searching for their father, Li Wangsheng. After years of renovating their dilapidated old house and searching for her brother, her life is now full again.
【3】Those Still Searching Many attending the reunion banquet were still searching for their own missing relatives. Some were invited by Li Lin; others came voluntarily. Most had been searching for ten or twenty years, traveling across provinces and attending numerous reunions, hoping to one day be the center of such a celebration.
Stories came from all over China. A parent from Shaanxi in her 60s said she had traveled across most of China in search of her child, visiting Hubei for the second time to spread awareness. A parent from Hubei tearfully recalled how her child, left with relatives, ran away in anger and never returned. She pleaded into the camera, “We were wrong. Since Li Xin has returned, may you also come back.”
Missing persons notices appeared on clothing, signs, backpacks, and flyers. These seekers were present at every stage of the ceremony, from Li Lin’s doorstep to the banquet hall. Their presence highlighted that the event was shaped by both those who had found their families and those still searching.
Even after the ceremony, the search continues. For Li Lin, finding her brother is only one step; she will now continue looking for her father. As life in Xiantao returns to normal, the uncharted paths of those still searching stretch onward.
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