Two families whose newborn babies were accidentally switched in a hospital in Xuan’en county, Hubei province in 1969 have been friends for the past three decades, since discovering the mix-up nearly 20 years after the event.

Huang Zhengbiao and Yang Guanghong, who were delivered in the same hospital on Sept 29, 1969, were accidentally taken home by the wrong families.

Huang Chunxing, the biological father of Yang Guanghong, found out about the switch 19 years later after being struck by the lack of resemblance between him and his son, Huang Zhengbiao. He reached out to Yang’s father, Yang Fusheng, and with the latter’s permission, reunited with his biological son.

The two families have been friends ever since. Wu Shiyin, the wife of the late Yang Fusheng, has been looked after by both sons since her husband passed away in 2013. And both Huang Zhengbiao and Yang Guanghong attended Huang Chunsheng’s 80th birthday celebration in 2015.

Zhu Fangjie contributed to this story.