30 years after her abduction, mother travels back home

A young man in northern China’s Hebei province has taken his mother — who was abducted from her home in Sichuan province three decades ago — back to her birthplace to find long-lost relatives.

Pang Hao, 24, started the nine-day journey with his mother, Liu Chengfeng, in October when she reiterated her desire to return to Sichuan, in the southwest, where she was born and lived for 19 years.

Liu was lured to Hebei by the promise of a job in 1988. But it turned out to be a scam, and she was instead sold as a bride to a man 10 years her elder in Pangzhuangzi village, Cangzhou.

“She was sold by traffickers to my father for 3,000 yuan (about $800 at the time) to get married,” Pang said.

Illiterate and with no experience of living alone, Liu remained in Cangzhou until last month. She became a permanent resident of the village after marrying Pang’s father, and the first of their four children, Pang’s eldest sister, was born in 1989.

Pang said his father had been good to his mother from the beginning, and their children had helped them bond. “Even so, my mother had always wanted 24, from Hebei to go back to her hometown and get in contact with her family,” he said. “This is a dream for her.”

On Oct 20, Pang decided to help his mother realize her dream after she raised the subject.

“I can’t remember how many times she’s told me about her bitter experience, but I thought, ‘This time I should do something,’” Pang said, adding that when he was younger, he had no idea what to do and did not have enough money for the journey.

Pang packed some necessities, including a tent, quilt, food and cookware, on a tricycle, and he and his mother set out from Pangzhuangzi on Oct 24, aiming for a destination about 1,700 kilometers away.

“Riding a tricycle would save us money, and my mother could enjoy the scenery along the route, which she’d never had the opportunity to see,” he said.

Eight days later, after traveling about 40 km a day, they arrived in Xingtai, Hebei, about 300 km from their starting point.

“My mother is 49 years old and traveling on a tricycle made her exhausted,” Pang said.

Concerned about his mother’s health, he decided they would take a train from Xingtai to Dazhou in Sichuan, and then a bus to Dazhou county.

Liu’s old identity card was the only evidence they had. It showed she was born in 1969 in Xingfu village, Dazhou. Based on that information, a local police station helped find one of her sisters.

The two women cried on each other’s shoulders the second they met. The sister told them that Pang’s grandparents and his mother’s other sister had died.

“Her brother and a sister are the only relatives she has now,” Pang said, adding that his mother regretted not seeing her parents again but was relieved she still had living relatives.

He said they stayed at his aunt’s home for a few days and exchanged contact information before starting the journey back to Hebei.

“In the future, they can bond and love each other like a normal family,” Pang said.

Riding a tricycle would save us money, and my mother could enjoy the scenery along the route.”