Parents reunited with daughter 24 years after she went missing

Wang Mingqing had distributed fliers and enlisted the help of his passengers in an effort to find his missing daughter. Photo / AsiaWire

A Chinese couple have reunited with their daughter, 24 years after they the girl went missing from a market in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.

Wang Mingqing and wife Liu Dengying had been working at their fruit stall when their three-year-old daughter Qifeng suddenly disappeared.

The couple were distraught, but never gave up hope and earlier this year - after searching for nearly a quarter of a century - they found their daughter again.

After Qifeng disappeared, Mr Wang says he searched for her day and night, and ended up becoming a taxi driver for a ride hailing company in order to spread the word.

Mr Wang printed his daughter's information on a business card and gave it to each of his customers and also put up a poster at the rear window of his taxi.

"Perhaps my daughter would get on my taxi one day?" said Mr Wang.

Thanks to his persistent search the Wangs' story had become local news, and earlier this year, a sketch artist who heard about their plight helped them draw a picture of what their daughter might look like as an adult.

Wang Qifeng, 27, had been raised just 12 miles away from Chengdu by adoptive parents who named her Kang Ying, the Daily Mail reported.

She always knew she was adopted, and had grown up thinking that her parents had abandoned her by the road.

When she saw the drawing of the kidnapped girl as an adult, she was shocked by how much it resembled her, and got in touch with Mr Wang.

Mr Wang found that he shared some unusual traits with his missing daughter, including a small scar on her forehead and a tendency to get nauseous whenever she cried.

With the help of local police, the pair did a DNA test last week, and it confirmed them as father and daughter.

Local TV channel Cover News visited the family as Mr Wang made his first phone call to his daughter in 24 years. The 50-year-old burst into tears the moment he heard his daughter's voice.

"From now on, your father is here. You don't need to worry about anything. Your father will support you," Mr Wang cried.

Wang Qifeng, who is now staying in Jilin Province in north China, agreed to fly to Chengdu for reunion on April 3.

The 27-year-old Qifeng brought along her one-year-old daughter to visit the family.

Mr Wang and his wife hugged their long-lost daughter and shed tears before taking a family photo.