'My heart is so full'

Representative case

Zeng calls Jasmine's case "one of the most representative overseas Chinese cases" the group has handled.

"Success depended not on luck, but on preparation," he said. "They arrived with letters, photographs of gravestones, village names and other valuable clues."

Since the release of Dear You, interest in tracing family roots has surged, particularly among Malaysians, while filming locations across Chaoshan have become tourist attractions in their own right.

Jasmine's own journey, however, did not end when she flew home.

She has since become one of the volunteer group's newest members, helping Chinese families find their relatives in Singapore. She has already helped reunite two families. A third chose not to reconnect, a decision the volunteers respected.

"We went without thinking we would find our families," she said.

"And yet, having found them, we are all now deeper in our roots. We've continued talking to our new families, and reminisced about the past and the history lost.

"My heart is so full. It's something I want other people to experience too."

THE STRAITS TIMES, SINGAPORE