A woman from Northern China recently uncovered a life-changing truth about her origins following a DNA test, spurred by her coworkers’ remarks on her distinct appearance. The woman, surnamed Dong, who is from Xinxiang in Henan province, shared her story with the South China Morning Post (SCMP), revealing how her colleagues’ playful comments on her “wider nose, thicker lips, and larger, deeper eyes” made her question her roots. They joked that her appearance didn’t resemble the typical local features of her region, prompting her curiosity and eventual DNA test.
“When I started working, my coworkers said, ‘You don’t look like us at all…You don’t look like someone from Henan at all,’” Dong told SCMP. Motivated by her coworkers’ words, Dong sought answers from her family but received vague and conflicting responses. Eventually, she decided to take a DNA test, which confirmed her suspicions—she was not biologically related to her parents. The results suggested that her origins likely trace back to Guangxi, a southern province of China.
Since Henan Broadcasting System reported the story on October 24, it has stirred significant interest online, with a wave of support from China’s internet community. Many users encouraged Dong to locate her biological parents. After the story circulated, a woman from Guangxi named Qi reached out, suspecting Dong might be her long-lost daughter based on facial similarities. However, a biological connection has not yet been confirmed.
This case echoes a similar incident in the U.S., where a family discovered through a “just-for-fun” DNA test that their youngest son was not biologically related to his father.