Watch: Village map drawn from memory reunites kidnapped man with family

A man who was kidnapped at the age of four reunited with his family 33 years later with the help of a map he drew up from memory of his childhood village.

37-year-old Li Jingwei was sold to a child trafficking ring after being kidnapped from his home village in 1989, China’s The Paper reported.

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“I was taken to Henan by a bald neighbour around 1989 when I was about four years old,” Li recalled. He was reportedly sold to a family that lived 1,700 miles away from his home.

His mother had moved house and was only 100 kilometres from her son without any knowledge.

It was only after Li shared a video of the hand-drawn map of his village on social site Douyin on Christmas Eve that the things started developing. His adoptive parents and DNA services weren’t even able to track down his family.

The sketch had enough details and references to buildings that made the location quite understandable for officials.

The details he shared also showed that locals used to cook rice in big wooden buckets.

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The police succeeded in matching the map with an area near the south-western city of Zhaotong in Yunnan Province.

After the confirmation of the location, Li underwent DNA tests. He reunited with his mother last week. Unfortunately, his father passed away a few years back.

The 37-year-old man is now married with children.