Having searched for their offspring without success across China, the group finally decided to come to Beijing.

One 44-year-old mother, surnamed Wang, from Shanxi Province, said she had crossed five provinces looking for her son, who went missing when he was eight.

Wang said an individual's power was very limited, especially if children were abducted by human traffickers, and called for more help from government, reported Beijing News.

She hoped a nationwide database of missing children could be established.