Hong, 28, was born into a rural family in Jiangxi Province as the third child, local outlet Daxiang News reported.

Her mother, Yang Xiaoying, said her father-in-law offered to take the newborn home to care for her a day after she gave birth. Yang agreed as she was still recovering and her husband was away.

She never saw Hong again. The grandfather, who preferred sons, later abandoned the baby in a toilet in another village.

Yang said she stopped speaking to him after he refused to reveal the child’s whereabouts and did not speak to him again before his death.

Hong’s father, Xu Lihong, said he had felt guilty for years for not confronting his father or reporting the case to police due to filial piety. “I kept looking for our youngest daughter but there was never any news,” Xu said.

At two days old, Hong was found crying in the toilet by a passerby and taken to a local welfare center. She was left with 120 yuan (US$18), a bag of milk powder and a note showing her date of birth.

Hong Yangli, who was abandoned by her grandfather when she was only two days old, reunites with birth parents in China. Illustration photo by Pexels

The center named her Hong Yangli and later placed her with a foster family. About a year later, a Dutch couple adopted her and took her to the Netherlands, where she grew up and completed a PhD, the South China Morning Post reported.

Hong said she was grateful to her adoptive parents but had long wanted to find her biological family. In Dec. 2024, she submitted a blood sample to a DNA database for missing children with the help of volunteers. Police later identified her biological parents through a DNA match.

On March 14, Hong returned to Nanchang to meet them. Her biological parents held a banquet and set off firecrackers to welcome her. “My daughter is back,” her mother said in tears.

Her father gave her a gold bracelet and a jade pendant. Hong also became emotional during the reunion although she does not speak Chinese. Volunteers helped her with translation during a journey home.

Her biological parents said they plan to visit her adoptive parents in the Netherlands later this year. “We are grateful to them for raising such a wonderful daughter,” Xu said.

He said he would respect Hong’s decision on whether to settle in China. Her adoptive parents have not publicly commented on the case.

The case has drawn mixed reactions on Chinese social media. “Hong was abandoned by a cruel grandfather but lucky to be raised by angelic adoptive parents,” one user said.

“The father never went to the police, effectively condoning his father’s crime. He was simply hiding behind filial piety and showed little real love for his daughter,” another said.

“Hong looks so much like her mother. No one carries the pain of losing a daughter more deeply than a mother. Wishing the family a happy reunion,” a third user said.