Two women who were switched at birth 37 years ago grew up just 4km apart in southern China, discovering that a hospital error had set their lives on divergent paths.
Huang Xiaolin and Li Hui were born 55 minutes apart at Qingyuan People’s Hospital in Qingyuan, Guangdong province, in October 1989, according to China Newsweek.
Nurses briefly presented the newborns to their mothers before taking them to a nursery, where both wore identical hospital attire. The maternity ward did not use identification wristbands at that time, relying instead on name cards placed within each baby’s swaddling. The circumstances of the mix-up remain unclear.
Huang grew up in a comfortable household with her adoptive parents, who worked for the government. She was the first to seek police assistance in tracing her birth family.
Her adoptive father recalled noticing that Huang had a different blood type and bore little resemblance to him, leading him to suspect his wife of infidelity.