At 9:35 p.m. on July 21st, Spring Airlines Flight 9C6826 from Bangkok, Thailand, landed smoothly at Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport. Lin Yonggui (also known as Banban), a young Thai-Chinese influencer, finally set foot in Chaozhou, his long-dreamed-of ancestral homeland, embarking on a long-awaited root-seeking journey.

In 2005, 17-year-old Lin made his first trip to China as an exchange student. Before his departure, his grandma solemnly wrote a note for him. In neat handwriting, she recorded their ancestral address as "Zhangcuozhou Village, Jiangdong Township, Chaozhou City, Guangdong Province, China," and listed relatives including "great-uncle Lin Kuanru," "grandfather Lin Zhansu," and "grandmother Chen Yanjiao." Handing the note to him, she hoped that one day, her descendants would return to their ancestral homeland to reunite with their family.

This June, Lin watched the Guangdong-produced film "Dear You." The familiar Teochew dialect brought him to tears and reminded him of his late grandma. Upon returning to Thailand, he dug out the yellowed note he had kept for years, deciding, "I think I should go back and trace my roots." With the assistance of reporters from Yangcheng Evening News, the address on the note served as a crucial clue. The descendants of Lin Kuanru were soon located—Lin's two uncles, Lin Hanliang and Lin Hanjia. A family connection that had been lost for decades was finally restored.

Early on the morning of July 22nd, Lin set off for his uncle Lin Hanjia's home. The family had prepared fresh flowers, eagerly awaiting a reunion decades in the making. The Lin family's ancestral tomb stood beside a verdant field, its moss-mottled headstone engraved with the names of the family's forebears. Pressing his palms together, Lin knelt and bowed deeply, touching his forehead to the ground as tears fell. He first whispered in Chinese, "Great-grandfather, great-grandmother, Yonggui has come back to see you." He then murmured a prayer in Thai.

Afterward, his uncle Lin Hanliang took him to the old family house. In the 1980s, when Lin's grandma visited China to see her relatives, she stayed in this very house. Looking at the bed where she once slept and the table corners she once touched, tears welled up in Lin's eyes again. Choking back sobs, he said, "I have so many feelings and so much to say right now, but I don't know how to express them... The note my grandma left me was probably meant to guide me back to our hometown to find my roots. Today, I am finally back. Grandma, I did it."

This root-seeking journey allowed Lin to learn the complete story of his grandfather, Lin Zhansu, for the first time. Lin Zhansu was one of six siblings. In the 1940s, as the eldest son, he traveled to Thailand to make a living, while his eldest sister, Lin Suixiang, moved to Hong Kong. Despite living far from home, the two siblings constantly kept their family in their thoughts. Every month, they would send back 100 Hong Kong dollars via qiaopi (overseas remittance letters) to support their parents. They would also occasionally send money to their second-eldest sister, Lin Suiqing, who had been widowed early, to help her raise her children.

These qiaopi were more than just remittance receipts; they carried the deep longing of overseas wanderers for their hometowns and families, standing as a testament to the Teochew family values of mutual support and enduring blood ties. Over the past century, generations of overseas Chinese have taken root in Thailand, excelling in business, education, and philanthropy. They have not only contributed to Thailand's economic and social development but also served as a vital bridge for friendly exchanges between China and Thailand. In recent years, as economic and trade cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between the two nations continue to flourish, a growing number of young people of Chinese descent are taking the initiative to return to their ancestral homelands, tracing their roots and uncovering their family histories.

一纸字条牵千里乡愁，泰国华裔网红跨越山海潮州寻根认亲

7月21日晚9时35分，从泰国曼谷起飞的春秋航空9C6826航班平稳降落在揭阳潮汕国际机场。来自泰国的华裔青年林永珪（班班）终于踏上了他魂牵梦萦的祖籍地——潮州，开启期待已久的寻根之旅。

2005年，17岁的林永珪作为交换生首次前往中国求学。临行前，阿嬷郑重写下一张字条，上面工整记下祖籍地址是“中国广东省潮州市江东乡樟厝洲村”，亲人有“老叔林宽如”“祖父林展速 祖母陈燕娇”等。阿嬷将纸条交到他手中，期盼有朝一日，子孙能够回到故土认亲。

今年6月，他观看了粤产电影《给阿嬷的情书》，熟悉的潮汕乡音直接让他看到泪崩，更让他想起逝去的阿嬷，回到泰国后，他翻出保存多年的泛黄字条，“我想我应该回来寻根”。在羊城晚报记者牵线下，字条上的地址成为关键线索，林宽如的后人很快就被找到了——林永珪的两位堂叔林汉亮、林汉加。尘封数十年的血脉联系就此续上。

22日清晨，林永珪动身前往堂叔林汉加的家。家人早已备好鲜花，等候着这场暌违数十载的团聚。林氏祖坟在一片青翠的田野旁，墓碑上刻着先祖的名字，苔痕斑驳。林永珪双手合十，深深跪拜下去，额头触地，泪水落下，他先用中文轻声说：“曾祖父、曾祖母，永珪回来看你们了。”再用泰语低声祈祝。

这次寻根之旅，让林永珪第一次完整得知关于爷爷林展速的故事。林展速有兄弟姐妹六人，上世纪四十年代，长子林展速远赴泰国谋生，大姐林隋香则前往香港。兄妹二人虽然身处异乡，却始终惦念着家乡亲人。每个月，他们都会寄回100港元侨批补贴父母家用，时不时还会寄钱给早年丧夫的二姐林隋卿，助她抚养孩子。

随后，堂叔林汉亮带他回到老屋。20世纪80年代，林永珪的阿嬷来中国探亲时，就住在这间老屋。林永珪望着阿嬷曾睡过的床铺、碰过的桌角，眼泪再次涌出。他哽咽着说：“我现在有很多感受，有很多话，却不知怎么讲……阿嬷留给我的那张纸条，应该就是为了引我回到家乡，找到自己的根。今天，我终于回来了。阿嬷，我做到了。”

一封封侨批，不只是汇款凭证，更承载着海外游子对故乡、对家人的牵挂；见证着潮汕人守望相助、血脉相连的家风。百余年来，一代代华侨华人在商业、教育、慈善等领域扎根发展，不仅推动了泰国经济社会建设，也成为中泰友好往来的重要桥梁。近年来，两国经贸合作、人文交流持续升温，越来越多华裔青年主动回到祖籍地寻根问祖，寻找家族记忆。

统筹｜蒋铮 赵鹏
文｜赵鹏 曾柯权 刘泳希
图｜温泽广
视频｜刘泳希 温泽广 赵鹏 曾柯权 黎杰文
译｜陈冠臻
英文审校｜郑奕玲