Gan Biao, a 35-year-old restaurant owner and veteran, has been voluntarily helping people find their lost family for four years, reuniting over ten families.

Gan Biao (Right) sitting restaurant. (Photo provided to People's Daily)

The veteran from Guang’an, southwest China’s Sichuan Province currently running a barbecue restaurant, began his journey of helping others in 2017, when he encountered a homeless elderly man on the roadside.

For two years, Gan and his friends took care of the man, providing him with food and a roof over his head. To help the man find his family, Gan posted videos of him on Chinese social media. In early 2019, after posting 426 videos, the man’s family saw the video and reunited.

“I’m a veteran, and we all grow old.” “I just want to do something meaningful for others,” said Gan.

In the past four years, Gan has posted information for more than 700 people.

At the end of 2021, a man named Li Jingwei contacted Gan, asking for help to find his birth parents. After talking with Li, Gan realized that the man could still remember the look of his hometown, so Gan encouraged Li to draw a picture of his hometown to increase his chances of finding his parents. Days later, Li's biological family saw the post, reuniting on New Year’s Day 2022.

Whenever someone asks for help, Gan would do his best to take, edit and post their videos online. Many people come to his restaurant hoping that he would help them. “Every day is tiring. But the good thing is that my family and friends support and help me,” Gan said.

To Gan, the greatest regret is giving help to people a little too late when their families have already passed before reuniting. He encourages more people to pay attention to lost families and help them reunite.

(Compiled by Feng Zhenglin)