Mao Yin was snatched aged two, while his father stopped to get him some water on the way home from nursery.
His parents searched the country for him and his mother distributed more than 100,000 flyers.
The family were reunited at a police news conference on Monday, and the son - now aged 34 - said he planned to spend time with his parents.
"I would like to thank the tens of thousands of people who helped us," said Li Jingzhi, the boy's mother.
