This movie was inspired by the true story of Guo Gangtang, who searched for twenty-four years for his son who had been abducted from their home at two years old. Guo became a folk hero for traveling the country with "missing child" banners flying on his motorcycle. In July 2021, multiple international news outlets reported that his twenty-six-year-old son had been found, and his identity was confirmed through DNA results. The New York Times reported that the kidnapped toddler had been abducted and sold for an illegal adoption--a practice that rose during China's infamous one-child policy because of the premium families placed on having sons rather than daughters.