Q: What are the "finding ads"?

The ads are placed by the orphanages as part of the adoption process. It appears from the evidence that in some provinces only the children placed for adoption have an ad placed, since many of the ads bear 'retroactive" dates for the children found many years before. I have ads for children found back into 1991. Early finding ads were "text only", meaning that only the child's finding date, location, and the orphanage that housed them were given. Sometimes, however, interesting tidbits of information are included, such as a description of the outfit the child was wearing, physical markings, etc.

Gradually, most provinces have transitioned to photo ads. These "photo ads" often picture children that are newborn to several months old. The ads almost always contain a picture of the child younger than the referral photo received by the families. Occasionally an older child can be found in these photo ads, if their paperwork has finally been submitted to the CCAA. Thus, the most important key to determining if an ad for your child was published isn't necessarily when they were found, but when they were adopted. If you adopted your child in November 1999 or later, most likely an ad was placed for her.

Q: What do the "finding ads" look like?

Go our main Finding Ad page and click on the various provinces listed to see samples of differing finding ads.

Q: How do you know if the ad is really for my child?

I am able to determine how many children were found in a given city on a particular date. By matching such information as birth date, finding date, finding location and your child's Chinese name, we are able to determine which ad was published for your child.

Q: Why do some provinces publish pictures and not others?

Chongqing has utilized photo ads from the inception of finding ads. Other provinces have migrated to photo ads over the last few years (Guangdong 2000, Jiangxi 2002, Hunan and Hubei 2003, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangsu 2004). Now, almost all provinces print photo ads.

Q: What kind of newspapers carry the ads, and how often are they published?

The ads are placed in fairly small newspapers (usually police or legal papers) which have very small circulations. Each ad is published only once, and is contained in a group of ads from the same orphanage. Each orphanage publishes ads a few times a year.

Q: How come my child's ad was published several months after she was found? Isn't that a long time?

Since each orphanage publishes ads anywhere from two to six times a year, depending on size, it is possible for up to six months to go by before a found child's ad is published.

Q: Do you have all the ads for each province?

We have done our best to seek out and obtain every ad from every province, but circumstances sometimes prevent us from accomplishing our goal. Sometimes we are unable to locate or purchase archive copies of the newspapers. We are constantly trying to complete our collection, so if we are unable to provide your child's ad at this time, check back in the future.

Q: Won't I get a copy of my child's finding ad from the orphanage when I adopt my child?

A few orphanages have been providing photocopies of the finding ads to families, but these are usually of very poor quality. We provide an archive print of the ad taken directly from the actual newspaper. Additionally, we provide a photo of the newspaper page on which it appeared. We also provide a certificate giving the name, date and location of the newspaper which contained the ad. There is no better way to obtain this important piece of information.

Q: How and when do I pay you to search for my child's ad?

There is no fee until we locate your child's finding ad. You begin by e-mailing us your child's Chinese name, birth date, finding date, finding location and orphanage. We will search our files and respond to your request with the fee ($25-$35) and payment options.

Q: How long does it take to process my ad order?

Guangdong and Jiangxi requests are usually shipped within one week; other provinces are shipped in 14 days.

Q: What if I would like more copies of my child's ad in the future?

Additional copies can be ordered at any time.