A ten year old girl from central China has touched millions of people online after writing a heartfelt farewell message to her migrant worker parents and offering them the money she had saved to treat themselves. The story quickly spread across social media platforms, where many viewers expressed sympathy for families separated by work. The girl, known as Xinyu, lives in Shangqiu in Henan province with her grandmother and younger brother while her parents work far away in the city of Suzhou. Their story highlights the emotional challenges faced by millions of children across China whose parents leave home for employment opportunities in distant cities.
Xinyu’s parents usually return home only once a year during the Spring Festival holiday, when migrant workers across the country travel back to their hometowns to reunite with family members. This year the holiday ran from mid February to late February, allowing the family to spend a short period together before the parents had to return to work. On the night before leaving, the couple went to check on their children and discovered a handwritten note placed carefully in their room along with a stack of cash that their daughter had saved.
In the letter Xinyu wrote that she had cried several times because she did not want her parents to leave again, but she understood that they worked hard for the family’s future. She reassured them that she would not try to stop them from going because she knew it would make them feel even more sad. The young girl had saved 805 yuan from the red envelope money she received during the Lunar New Year celebrations. She told her parents to use the money to eat well, take care of themselves and avoid becoming too tired or sick while working away from home.
Her father later explained that the family never expected their daughter to give away all of her holiday savings. According to him, when she received the money during the festival she had mentioned buying something for herself, so the parents were deeply surprised by her gesture. After reading the note both parents were moved to tears and struggled to read the letter again. The father said his daughter’s kindness and maturity made them both proud and heartbroken at the same time.
The story also reflects a broader social reality affecting many rural families in China. Millions of parents travel to large cities for employment while their children remain in hometowns under the care of relatives or grandparents. These children are commonly described as left behind children because they grow up without the daily presence of one or both parents. Economic migration has helped many families improve their living conditions, but it has also created emotional challenges for children who spend long periods separated from their parents.
Online users who watched the videos shared by the family said the story reminded them of their own childhood experiences growing up in similar circumstances. Some people said they also waited eagerly for their parents to return home during holidays or looked forward to weekly phone calls when they were young. The videos showing Xinyu and her younger brother waving goodbye to their parents from the window of their home attracted widespread attention and quickly gained millions of views across Chinese social media platforms.
Government data indicates that tens of millions of left behind children still live in rural areas across China while their parents work in cities. Although education opportunities and living conditions have improved over the years, experts say emotional and psychological challenges remain a concern. Many parents continue to migrate for work because employment opportunities are limited in rural regions, leaving families to balance economic survival with the emotional impact of separation.
