In the spring of 1994, Zhang Lihua, with her 3-year-old son, fell asleep after drinking a bottle of water handed to her by a stranger while visiting relatives. When she woke up, she found herself kidnapped and taken to a rural area, with her son nowhere to be found. In 1998, Zhang Lihua was rescued and returned to Shandong, starting a 26-year journey of searching for her son.
According to a report by China Central Television (CCTV) on December 25, Zhang Lihua recalled that they were on a bus from Chuxiong to Kunming. Due to the bumpy mountain roads, she felt nauseous, and when they stopped in Xiu Xi, Nanhua County, a “kind person” handed her a bottle of water. After drinking it, she fell into a deep sleep. When she woke up, she was in a village and pleading with them to let her go, but they said she was bought and couldn’t be released, and they hadn’t found her son at the time of purchase.
Zhang Lihua made several attempts to escape but was caught each time and subjected to beatings. In order to see her son, she endured hard work and finally gained the trust of the family.
One day, when the family went out, Zhang Lihua seized the opportunity to escape and hitchhiked to Chengdu on a pig truck. Unfortunately, she fell into another trap. She was duped by a human trafficker to Luzhou and eventually sold to a nightclub in Chengdu. In 1998, the nightclub was shut down, and Zhang Lihua was picked up by her husband.
Since then, the couple has been tirelessly searching for their son. Initially searching near Liaocheng, they found no clues. Eventually, she went to the police to provide a DNA sample for identification.
Unfortunately, in 2013, Zhang Lihua was diagnosed with rectal cancer and had to rely on a colostomy bag for excretion. Despite the challenges, she never gave up on finding her son.
In April 2024, a breakthrough came as Zhang Lihua reunited with her missing son, Zhang Kai, in Xinzhou, Shanxi. At the reunion, she met volunteer Chen Qian who helped submit the missing child information, photos of her two daughters, the father’s identification, and biological samples to the Mianyang police. It was confirmed that a man named Zeng who lived in Weiyuan County, Neijiang, Sichuan was Zhang Lihua’s son, Zhang Hechao.
On July 31, 54-year-old Zhang Lihua finally reunited with her son after 30 years of separation. She expressed that her life after being kidnapped was too bitter and too difficult and hoped that the cycle of abduction would end with her generation, creating a healthy and safe society for women and children – her greatest wish.