A 24-year-old woman surnamed Dong in northern China recently discovered she is not her parents’ biological daughter after a DNA test, spurred by colleagues’ comments that she “did not look local.” The revelation has sparked support online, with netizens encouraging her to search for her birth family.
Dong, from Xinxiang in Henan province, shared her story in an interview, as reported by Henan Broadcasting System. Her colleagues often pointed out her distinctive appearance, which eventually led to her surprising discovery.
“I’ve always lived in Xinxiang, but after I started working, my colleagues would say, ‘You do not look like us at all. Your nose is wide, you have thick lips, and your eyes are bigger and deeper than ours. You do not look like someone from Henan at all,’” Dong recalled. Curious about their comments, she asked her parents for answers but received vague responses about her birth date. Growing more confused, Dong decided to take a DNA test.
“Every night, I kept wondering, where do I really come from?” Dong reflected. The results suggested she was likely from Guangxi province in southern China, with no genetic ties to Henan.
Volunteers from Baobei Huijia, a national group focused on reuniting lost family members, have stepped in to assist with DNA tests. Chinese netizens expressed hope for a reunion, with one commenting, “Wishing this young woman finds her birth family soon and sending hugs to her”, as reported by South China Morning Post.
Following media coverage, a woman from Guangxi, surnamed Qi, reached out to Dong, believing she could be her long-lost daughter. “It’s quite a coincidence that this young woman is also 24. I look at her and feel she resembles my daughter in every way, but I never saw my daughter after she was born. I experienced immense pain after giving birth and cried to my husband every day, wondering where my daughter went,” Qi said. Her son has already begun calling Dong his sister, saying, “My mum is nearly 100 per cent sure, and I want to find my sister too.”