With a mixture of anxiety and hope, Feng Jianlin hit the road on Tuesday to begin his fourth nationwide search for his missing daughter.
But this time, the journey will be a little different - the 38-year-old's progress will be followed by thousands of well-wishers through his micro blog.
At around 2:50 pm, Feng, along with companions Shi Richeng and Liu Liqin, set off from Taiyuan in North China's Shanxi province.
All three said they have confidence they will find their children, as well as other missing youngsters.
Feng, who used to run a tire shop, gave up his business and has devoted himself to finding missing children since his daughter, Feng Yun, disappeared as she walked to school for afternoon classes in March 2008.
"At that time, my girl was only 9 years old. From then on, I have always carried her photo with me," he said, adding that his previous missions resulted in 10 children being reunited with their families.
This time, Feng will travel to provinces where child trafficking remains a problem, such as Henan, Shandong, Anhui and Jiangsu. He does not know how long the journey will last.
The trio's van has a board displaying information on more than 300 missing children, as well as leaflets with pictures.
Feng has traveled thousands of kilometers and met many parents in similar situations. But after setting up xunzi.cc, a website that collects information on lost youngsters, in 2011, he realized the Internet could be a more powerful tool for finding children.
The website contains information on nearly 400 missing children, all provided by their parents. Feng's journeys now attract hundreds of young volunteers.
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