Chinese man reunites with family after 25 years in total isolation to honour a promise
A Chinese man in his 60s has finally reunited with his family after spending 25 years in isolation to care for a house deep in the mountains, even after the owner had forgotten about it. Li Guoyou, 63, recently received his renewed hukou booklet, China’s official household registration, at a police station in Pingtan, a town in southwestern Sichuan province. This marked his official identity…
A Chinese man in his 60s, Li Guoyou, finally reunited with his family after being isolated for 25 years to care for a mountain house, despite the owner having forgotten about it. Li, aged 63, recently received his renewed hukou booklet, a crucial identity document, at a police station in Pingtan, Sichuan province. After leaving home at 24 in 1987 to seek better work in Guangzhou, Li lost contact with his two brothers after their parents' death.
He returned home once in 1997, but not with his brothers. Li lived off the land for 25 years, growing corn, raising livestock, and fishing, with a grocery store 3 kilometers away. Li's original ID card expired in 2005 when China switched to digital ID cards. To return home, Lin, the owner of the house who Li had promised to care for, contacted police in Harbin and Pingtan, who assisted Li in getting a train ticket from Harbin to Chongqing, 40-hour journey.
Once in Chongqing, Pingtan police escorted Li back to his hometown, where he finally met his brothers. Li plans to move back to his hometown, and Lin vowed to treat him like family.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
