46 children who were adopted and grew up abroad have come back to their birthplaces here in China to celebrate Thanksgiving Day.
 
Accompanying the children on their home visit's first stop in Beijing are 49 other members of 37 adoptive families representing the U.S., Canada, the UK, Australia, the Netherlands, and Sweden. They are to set out to find their Chinese roots, China Radio International (CRI) reports.

These adopted children aged between 4 to 14 years old are mainly from central China's Hubei province and south China's Guangdong province. During their root-seeking tour here in China, they will visit their birthplaces and celebrate the American holiday of Thanksgiving.

Dou Yupei, vice Minister of Civil Affairs, told CRI that the ministry has always been promoting the root-seeking tour for adopted children living overseas.

"The root-seeking tour to China could not only make the adoptive children understand their hometown, but also promote friendship between China and other foreign countries. I hope that these adoptive children will become messengers of friendship between China and the rest of the world." He added.

Since the 1990s, tens of thousands of Chinese children have been adopted by families from overseas.