Family reunited after 36 years with hand-drawn map
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In Tianjin, China, Liu Zhijun reunited with his 92-year-old mother on September 23 after being separated for 36 years, guided by a map he drew from memory.
Born in 1976 with a hearing impairment, Liu Zhijun left home in 1990 following a disagreement with his father and became lost while traveling. He found work in Shenyang, where a couple took him in and raised him, and he began sketching a map of his hometown, hoping to one day return.
Liu Zhijun always remembered his family of seven, his parents, two brothers, and two sisters, and details like his mother’s name, a local temple, and the crops grown nearby. Unable to easily communicate verbally, he relied on drawings to depict his home and shared the map with others, asking for help finding his way back. Volunteers began searching in 2019, focusing on areas in Liaoning, Hebei, and Tianjin, but initial attempts proved unsuccessful.
In September 2026, police in Tianjin matched Liu’s map to the local landscape and confirmed a family in Jizhou matched his descriptions, with DNA tests later confirming the familial connection. His brother traveled to Shenyang to bring him home, and Liu knelt to thank his foster parents before leaving.
