My great-grandfather’s name is Yan Huidong. He went to Taiwan in about 1948 or 1949, probably to avoid the war. At that time, my great-grandfather wanted to take his whole family to Taiwan, but unexpectedly he was there.

I know, my great grandfather was in Taiwan.

When I was a child, I heard my grandfather say that my great-grandfather was in Taiwan. My great-grandfather’s name is Yan Huidong. He went to Taiwan in about 1948 or 1949, probably to avoid the war. At that time, my great-grandfather wanted to take his family to Taiwan, but unexpectedly, he was separated from his family on the way to the port, so he only took him with him. My nephew, my cousin, went to Taiwan, and there was no news from him for many years.

Probably in the late 1980s and early 1990s, my cousin once returned to the mainland. It was also at that time that the family learned that my great-grandfather had passed away as early as 1976. My cousin also said at the time that my great-grandfather was buried in Kaohsiung after his death. Little White Lake Cemetery. In the early 1990s, the family also wanted to move my great-grandfather's ashes from Taiwan back to the mainland, but for some reasons, the matter was ultimately shelved.

When I grow up, I want my great-grandfather to come home.

It was probably around 2011, when I was still in the first year of high school, and I accidentally read an article in the magazine "Reader" about Mr. Sun Chunlong's help in returning home the stranded Myanmar veteran Li Xiquan. That was my first contact with him. When I went to Longyue to do charity, I also gained a deeper understanding of the word "fallen leaves return to their roots". After that, I also asked my family if they shouldn’t move my great-grandfather’s ashes from Taiwan back to the mainland? After all, no matter how good Taiwan is, it is still not home. My family wanted to do it too, but it was too difficult after all. After all, the family had lost contact with my cousin for 20 years since the last time they communicated through letters.

The picture shows veteran Li Xiquan returning to China

Around 2015, the family made it clear that they hoped to find a way to find their great-grandfather’s cemetery in Taiwan and move his ashes from Taiwan back to the mainland. After that, I searched for the Xiaobai Lake Cemetery in Kaohsiung, Taiwan many times on Google Maps and Taiwan-related websites. I also searched for my cousin’s address in Taiwan, but still found nothing. The matter was in a dilemma.

All changes start from here.

Around 2016, I learned that Longyue Charity started a cross-strait family search project, so I started to ask for help from Longyue Charity. With the help of Longyue Charity and Taiwanese volunteers, I finally found out what my grandfather said. The Xiaobai Lake Cemetery is the Kaohsiung Military Chung Ling Shrine. Because the cemetery is next to Xiaobai Lake in Taiwan, the locals in Taiwan call it Xiaobai Lake Cemetery.

I had hope, but what followed was disappointment. My family had lost contact with my cousin in Taiwan for a long time. After repeated confirmations from volunteers in Taiwan, my great-grandfather’s tomb had been moved to another place. There were early burials in Taiwan, and the migration occurred earlier. There are no records of migration in the cemetery. After I learned that my great-grandfather’s tomb was no longer in Kaohsiung, I turned to try to find my cousin. I only had an address from that year as a clue. I left a message in the mailbox of the mayor of Tainan City , and the response was as expected. , due to its age, the address does not match my cousin’s name.

During another communication with my family, I learned that my cousin once served in the Tainan City Police Department and had served for a long time, so I turned to the Tainan City Police Department for help. Around early August 2016, I finally received help. With some results, after investigation by the Tainan City Police Department, it was found that the cousin had been dead for many years, but his son did not know where his great-grandfather’s tomb was located.

Perhaps it was God’s will. During the summer vacation of 2016, I spent half of my time searching online for all the clues related to my great-grandfather. One day in late August, I accidentally entered a website in Taiwan called "National Development Council Archives Administration - Agency Archives Catalog Inquiry Network" because I had already learned the name of my cousin from my family, and I also knew My cousin once served in the Tainan City Police Department, so I tried to search for my cousin’s name, and got a clue that I still think is very important to this day. My cousin’s police pension was collected by his daughter, my cousin. aunt. But what I thought at the time was that just knowing my cousin's name didn't seem to be of much use.At the end of August, when school was about to start, I accidentally searched for my cousin's name on Google , and then I saw a phone number. I thought for a while that this must be the person I was looking for.

The picture shows the cemetery where great-grandfather was moved and buried in Kaohsiung.

This time, great-grandfather is really going home.

I made this call with great determination, because I didn’t know whether the person on the other end of the phone was the cousin I was looking for. The first time, no one answered, the second time, no one answered. The next day, the third day, I called every day, but still no one answered. I have forgotten how many times I called this phone. I even wanted to give up for a while, thinking that if no one answered, it would definitely not be the person I was looking for. It was almost noon on the fourth day. Basically, with the mentality that this was the last time, I dialed the number again, beep, beep, beep, beep... it rang for almost 20 seconds, and the call was finally connected, although At that time, I wasn't sure whether the person on the other end of the phone was my cousin, but the feeling of being able to get through the call was indescribable.

I tried to tell the other party my cousin’s name and my great-grandfather’s name. Unexpectedly, the other party said, that’s my father, that’s my great-uncle. I know I made the right bet, this is the cousin I'm looking for. I had a lot of chats with my aunt on the phone twice. My aunt expressed that she was very happy that the family relationship between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, which had been out of touch for so long, could continue. After that, my aunt and I started using email and WeChat. In the emails my aunt sent me, she told me many stories about my great-grandfather’s life in Taiwan.

The following is a message from my aunt:

In my memory, my uncle served in the Hualien Air Force and lived in Kaohsiung Military Village after retirement. In my memory, he was always alone and opened a small grocery store. , the surrounding neighborhood children will buy snacks and groceries from him.

After my uncle and grandpa lived in Kaohsiung, we often spent holidays at his uncle's house. He likes to walk with birds. There is always a small yellow bird in his grocery store. It must be a parrot. My uncle and grandpa will prepare millet to feed it, talk to him, listen to the little yellow bird singing, and will lead us to follow him in the evening. The little yellow bird went out for a walk. I think the little yellow bird should be my uncle's comfort. Also, my uncle loved my younger brother very much. When my brother was still young, my uncle always teased him, hugged him, and generously gave him candies from the grocery store. Thinking about it now, it should be that his longing for family but unavailable emotion was temporarily comforted.

My uncle and grandpa probably passed away when I was in the lower grade of elementary school. He probably died of cancer at the Hualien Veterans Hospital.

Although my aunt doesn’t know where my great-grandfather’s tomb is, I just know that my great-grandfather’s tomb has been moved from Kaohsiung to Tainan by my cousin. My aunt said that she will do her best to help us find our great-grandfather’s tomb. In a blink of an eye, it was almost the Chinese New Year. It was around the 27th of the twelfth lunar month. My aunt contacted me through WeChat and suspected that she had found the cemetery where my great-grandfather was buried. However, I had to confirm it during the day the next day. I knew that I was only one step away from success. far away. Sure enough, the next day, my aunt went to the cemetery to confirm that it was indeed my great-grandfather's grave. The family's long-awaited heart was finally relieved. The New Year is approaching, and there will always be good news, right?

The picture shows my aunt (right) finding her great-grandfather’s grave in Tainan.

During my search for my great-grandfather’s grave, my family gave me a lot of support. Counting from 2015 to January 24, 2017, the nearly two-year journey to find a loved one was full of laughter and ups and downs. In my opinion, no matter how bumpy the road ahead is, don’t give up and persevere. Likewise, don’t let go of any detail. The good news will eventually come!