This is the heartwarming moment a 65-year-old man is reunited with his relatives after being abducted and sold in 1958 in what is believed to be the longest period relatives have been estranged before reuniting in China.

Miao Yongkang was reunited with his three living siblings in the village of Hongqi in Hexian County in the city of Ma’anshan in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui on 13th July.

He was abducted as a toddler by a river and sold in the city of Nanjing in the bordering province of Jiangsu 63 years ago, according to local media.

The Ma’anshan police said it was the longest period relatives have been estranged before reuniting in China.

After growing up in Nanjing, Yongkang was always unclear on his birthplace and suspected he was adopted, which was later confirmed by the couple raising him.

When his adoptive mother died, he began searching for his biological family, saying: “At that time, I thought, no matter what, I want to find my home.”

After discovering paperwork suggesting his family was in Hexian County in Ma’anshan, Yongkang visited local councils and archives to track them down in 1988, however, his efforts were fruitless and he gave up for a while.

In May this year, the Ministry of Public Security’s ‘Operation Reunion’ started scouring their database for possible matches.

A ministry spokesperson said: “From over 100 comparison results from the anti-trafficking system, we discovered five important pieces of information and we started a search based on that.”

Officials determined that Yongkang probably came from Hongqi Village in Hexian County and later managed to track down three living siblings.

The estranged relatives were reunited on 13th July after separating back in 1958 when Yongkang was abducted.

His older brother Sun Lichao told local media: “Our mum missed you every day and night. We tried to find you so many times, always with no luck. But now you are finally back!”

It was not mentioned what had happened to his biological parents but they were not at the meeting and it’s assumed that they died in the meantime.