Eagle-eyed deliveryman helps families reunite with missing people

Over the years, a take-away deliveryman in Quanzhou, Fujian province, has helped 36 lost people return home.

Whatever the weather, Hong Chengmu can be found delivering food by an electric bike, while keeping an eye out for those who may need help.

In a crumpled white notebook he carries with him every day, he records lost people's names and characteristics and locations, dates and times related to their missing.

"These are people who need the most help. It requires minimal effort to help them return home on my way to deliver food," the 34-year-old said. "I used to think that the best thing in life was to meet people. Now, I know it is more precious for people to meet again.

"Behind every missing person are the pain of a family and hearts eager to reunite. It's a great joy to see families reunited."

Hong has been a deliveryman in Nan'an, a city in Quanzhou, since 2018 and was included in Fujian's first group of "most beautiful takeaway deliverymen" in March this year.

Hong's special services began by chance in 2019, when he first came across people he'd seen listed as missing or lost in the news or in posts on WeChat Moments as he was out delivering food.

One day, he learned that a 32-year-old mentally-disturbed man in Quanzhou had lost contact with his family.

That night, he happened to see the man. Hong spoke to him and confirmed that he was the person in question, and with the help of the police, he was able to send the man home immediately.

Moved by the joy and gratitude of the family, he decided to do more.

He joined a program started by the ByteDance news app, Toutiao, and began to volunteer to search for lost people.

Of the 36 people Hong has found to date, 29 were through random encounters on the way to deliver food, and seven were from notices he saw posted on Toutiao.