Reunion After 45 Years: A Mother’s Day Trip to Yangmingshan in Search of Family Roots

Tourism Center / Comprehensive Report

Karan, a Chinese-American woman born in Taiwan, immigrated to the United States with her mother at the age of three after her father passed away. Forty-five years later, she recently returned to her hometown with her son for a roots-tracing journey. The most important mission of this trip was to visit Yangmingshan and find her father’s grave.

Now 48 years old, Karan hadn’t been back to Taiwan in 30 years since immigrating to the U.S. The only clue she had to finding her father was a note left by her mother, which included his name and the date of his passing. With the passage of time, she didn’t know where to start. By chance, Karan joined a one-day Taipei tour that took her through the city’s cultural and creative spaces as well as landmark attractions via bicycle, MRT, and on foot. She then decided to embark on a trip to Yangmingshan, hoping to find her father’s grave. With the help of her guide, the Yangmingshan trip turned into a roots-tracing journey.

On a sunny day, the group arrived at the First Public Cemetery in Yangmingshan. However, the cemetery office staff said they couldn’t find the person in their computer records. Later, a cemetery worker with 40 years of experience was called in. He went through yellowing, handwritten records and managed to locate the correct number, confirming that Karan’s father was indeed buried in the First Public Cemetery. Following the number to the site, they could only find an approximate location, as the grave markers had shifted over the years due to renovations and rezoning.

Wu Zhaohui, CEO of MyTaiwanTour, the company that organized the one-day tour, said that after searching the mountain for over an hour, they finally discovered, to their delight, a broken gravestone covered in weeds. They were able to piece together fragments that roughly spelled out her father’s name. Through a video call with her mother back in the U.S., they confirmed it was indeed his grave. After 45 years, the father, daughter, and grandson were reunited across the divide of life and death.

▲ A broken gravestone was unexpectedly found in a weed-covered corner. (Photo / Provided by Love Travel)

Wu Zhaohui said the gravestone was badly damaged. “So our amazing guide took on the role of a part-time grave restorer and arranged for construction workers to help Karan restore her father’s gravestone. Within a week, it regained its former appearance.” Karan went up the mountain again to take a photo with her father’s “new home,” bringing a fulfilling conclusion to the entire roots-tracing journey.

▲ Karan went up the mountain again to take a photo with her father’s “new home,” bringing a fulfilling conclusion to the entire roots-tracing journey. (Photo / Provided by Love Travel)

After completing the mission, Karan’s son embarked on a fun and novel shrimp fishing adventure. It turns out that this shrimp fishing activity, loved by NBA star Jeremy Lin, has become popular in the U.S. thanks to his fame. Karan’s son insisted on trying it out, giving this one-day Taipei trip—transformed into a roots-tracing journey—a happy ending.