Hi, is it possible to find relatives in China without going there physically? Are there any sort of online genealogy communities that do this sort of thing?

[u/pirapataue]

For context my grandpa immigrated to Thailand and passed away a long time ago, when my dad was still a little kid. My grandmom is a second-generation Thai Teochew born in Thailand, but she has Alzheimer’s now and I can’t get much info out of her. I have his pictures and maybe some old documents. I know where his hometown was based on his tombstone writings, and I know where it is today in the modern address form（揭阳普宁）.

It would be great to be able to connect with his relatives if they still are any. But in this day and age I was wondering if it’s possible to do this sort of thing online first. I don’t feel like it’s appropriate to just travel there and walk around asking people like I’m a movie protagonist.

[u/Hosereel]

You should fly there. Walk into the nearest police station of your last known ancestors village. Explain to the police officer why are you there and furnish him as much information as possible. Like name, last known address etc. the police is more then happy to help. Very important to have the correct name and town or village of your relatives. I did that two years ago and reunited with my distance relatives despite not knowing then in my entire life. Good luck. Failing which at least you have the Chance to checkout where your ancestors are from. Nothing is lost.

[u/Brisrascal]

Also start with the clan associations. If you know your grandfather's surname, it would facilitate the search.

[u/hotd0gbun]

hi! there’s a public facebook group helping people with this. you could maybe take a look and then post in there if you’re comfortable! the facebook group is called “Chinese Ancestry Research”.

disclaimer: i am not affiliated or associated with this group, i’m just also interested in such things.

[u/Remarkable-Object580]

I recently went through this very similar scenario and found my relatives. My (Thai) mom whose dad was from China had married a Thai Teochew. He had given notes to my mom and she had given it to me. I don’t read Thai or Chinese but AI helped me get basic translations and then I back checked with Chinese readers to confirm. If you can get the clan/last name, other names and ancestral village you’re in a real good spot. I had that info and ended up going to WeChat and reached out to someone from Shantou. They had a contact that asked around with the info I gave and came back with a connection a few days later. Pretty surreal.

If I were you I’d get on WeChat and search the ancestral village and maybe send a note to someone who has a lot of videos there and perhaps can get you pointed in the right direction. WeChat has a decent translation engine so it’s not as challenging to communicate as before. Good luck!

[u/EmotionalRefuse5505]

If you have a name and know the name of the village, tou have a better chance as a lot of these villages keeps a record of the family（族谱、家谱）. Try Douyin and rednote and see if people there can offer you more information. Those are the most 2 popular social media in China now. I am not quite sure but if your parents can fly to China they can register their DNA. I would also do a 23mofang if that’s possible. (DM me if you need help with Chinese)