Man abducted 13 years ago is reunited with father after fried oysters trigger his memory

A Chinese man who was abducted when he was seven years old had an emotional reunion with his father after remembering the name of his hometown while eating fried oysters.

Li Risheng, renamed by his new family as Ye Fengqiang, was abducted and apparently sold to another family in Diancheng, southern China, 13 years ago, Guangzhou Daily reported.

The now 20-year-old tried to find his biological family for more than 10 years but told media he slowly adapted to his new life live in Yunfu City.

But when Mr Risheng ate a plate of fried oysters - his hometown’s specialty dish - he said it tasted like his "home flavor" and from there found out where he grew up.

After months of DNA sampling, the pair were reunited on January 6 at the Maoming Public Security Bureau where they were pictured crying uncontrollably in each other’s arms.

According to local media, Mr Risheng followed his mother and two of her friends shopping after dinner in 2004 and they took a bus and he fell asleep on it.

The then seven-year-old claimed he woke up on a random farm with his mother and her friends.

Upon waking the next morning, he said one of the friends told him she would take him back to see his mother, however the unnamed woman transported the boy to another family living in Yangjiang city.

Mr Risheng said he tried to escape multiple times but eventually accepted his new home.

In 2015, a friend had a baby and it prompted him to register his information on Baobeihuijia, also known as "Baby Come Home", which is a website used to track down trafficked children and their parents, the newspaper reported.

Months later, volunteers contacted him through the Wuchuan City Public Security Bureau and collected blood samples. But the registration was unsuccessful due to lack of information.