HANGZHOU, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chen Jie from the Chinese mainland could never have imagined taking a photo for a stranger would lead him to a long-lost relative in Taiwan, someone he had only heard about from his elders.
The encounter began in a July sunrise by the Lugu Lake in southwest China's Yunnan Province, when Chen, a Shanghai-based content creator on a business trip, helped take a picture for a Taiwanese tourist.
The two exchanged WeChat contacts to share the photo, and through their conversations, Chen learned that the tourist, Fei Hai-ping, had ancestral roots in Puyuan Township in east China's Zhejiang Province and was living in the city of Kaohsiung.
The three pieces of information matched exactly with the details of the out-of-contact Taiwanese relative his family elders had often spoken of.
Chen immediately messaged his father, who asked only one question: "Is his dad named Fei Yunfeng?" The answer came from Fei Hai-ping: "Yes."
At that moment, a family bond that had stretched across the Taiwan Strait and lain silent for decades was unexpectedly restored.
Still amazed by what had happened, Chen asked AI to estimate the odds of such a coincidence. The result comes between hundreds of millions and tens of billions to one.
"That's like flipping a coin 30 times and getting heads every single try," he said. "But this unbelievable thing was my reality."
The two families stayed in touch after their encounter in Yunnan, and on Aug. 13, Fei Hai-ping traveled from Kaohsiung to Puyuan, their shared ancestral hometown, to meet Chen Jie's father Chen Yutang. The two cousins, both 71, gave each other a big hug.
Their connection dated back a generation. Chen Jie's grandfather, Chen Alin, and Fei Hai-ping's father, Fei Yunfeng, were biological brothers. After their parents died, Chen Alin was adopted by another family and took the surname Chen, while Fei Yunfeng remained with the Fei family.
In 1949, the defeated Chinese Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan, and the People's Republic of China was founded under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. That year, the Fei family moved to Taiwan. The two families were separated for decades due to historical circumstances. In the late 1980s, Fei returned to the Chinese mainland in search of his roots. He found his brother Chen and brought with him a family photo from Taiwan, with each member carefully identified.
Chen Yutang has treasured that photo ever since then.
Also well-preserved are the yellowed letters that Chen Yutang wrote on behalf of his illiterate father to Fei Yunfeng during the 1990s. At that time, letters were the only way the families could exchange greetings and share news of their lives across the strait.
The letters mostly centered on the everyday cares and concerns. Fei Yunfeng reminded his younger brother to smoke less, drink less, and take care of his health. On one occasion, he even asked someone to send Chen 200 U.S. dollars, telling him to put it away for emergencies.
To the Chen family's younger generation whom Fei has never met, he also offered sincere encouragement, telling them to live a good life and stay grounded.
Later, due to declining health, Fei Yunfeng moved into a nursing home. Phone calls had since gone unanswered and letters received no reply. After hearing Fei's passing, the Chen believed they might never be able to reconnect with their kin again.
Fei Hai-ping, who grew up in Taiwan, knew only vaguely of an uncle on the mainland through the old letters and photos his father had left behind.
For Fei, the reunion at Lugu Lake thus felt like a blessing from their fathers. "I came all the way to see the place where my dad was born and grew up," he said while in Puyuan.
Fei brought gifts from Taiwan including tea and pineapple cakes, and was welcomed with offerings from the Chen family, including local chrysanthemum tea, pastries and silk quilts. Fei hoped to bring his grandchildren back to Puyuan someday, so the younger generations could meet and keep the family bond alive.
Chen Jie is still amazed by the fateful meeting and can't help but wonder: What if he had not gone to Yunnan on that business trip? What if he had not woken up early to watch the sunrise? What if his uncle had not asked him to take the photo? What if they had not continued chatting on WeChat afterward?
Without any one of those coincidences, their paths might never have crossed again.
"Whether the reunion was a result of countless coincidences or driven by some unseen force, it has made me see the fact clearly than ever, that the Taiwan Strait can never sever the bonds of our blood," he said. ■
