If so, any suggestions?

private investigators exist in the form of "commercial investigator" in china with no legal framework except a 1993 directives from the PSB prohibits such activities. debt collection is a big business in china, you know. :-)

Thank you rejected_goods. Besides debt collection which is "inappropriate", any other suggestions how to find a lost friend in Kunming?

Do you want to be a PI?
Do you want to hire a PI?
Are you just trying to find someone? Chinese or Foreigner?

These are all very different topics.

@aiyaryarr
If your request is bonafide and not malicious in nature, please consider retaining a local attorney. IF you have your acquaintance's full name and perhaps last known address(es), mobile phone number(s), etc OR if you know their birth hometown - in Chinese. Any and or all information you can provide will help the attorney refine the search parameters.

The attorney can then legally check through PSB records to find their ID card number and or Hukou / family registration things and then search for their last known government or bank use of their ID card.

MOST probably, you'll need some kind of court order, but if the person is an old acquaintance (such as a Flying Tigers war buddy that you want to find - that's happened before, but a LONG time ago) - it's possible, but please discuss this issue with a reputable attorney, such as the ones that advertise here (because they have bilingual assistance), for example.

For the record, I have NO known affiliation with any legal firm advertising on this forum and am NOT positively or negatively endorsing any legal firm in any and or all shape(s) or form(s).

If there is a very good story, tell it to the local tv station. A tv station has more resource and connections. Good luck.

Thank you all for your inputs. Unfortunately, I cannot apply any of the suggestions:

• Since PI service is not available, it's not an option.
• I don't want to be a PI, just looking for legal ways to find a friend.
• My understanding of the reputation of collection services, the world over, are less than ideal. They may use methods that scare or not so nice to people along the way.
• Going to an attorney without all of the necessary data will not help. Besides, unless the attorney is in need of a job, he/she is unlikely willing or able to take one to look for someone.
• It's only a personal search that does not qualify for or warrants public attention on TV.

I think life's decision incongruities often include holding onto what we should not and letting go of what we should hold onto. Perhaps starting this thread was my knee-jerk action. The answer for my dilemma is probably in front of me, I just need to see it, accept it & move on. Again, thank you all for your time & suggestions.

@aiyaryarr
There's another potential option, which is hit or miss and free. Post your query to a wechat, qq, and other popular social media forums, in both English and Chinese.

As a casual search option, one should expect a casual response, so the more info one provides, the higher the quality of the information.

Good luck.

Along the lines of @michael2015 posting a picture of the person you are looking for might help or posting on a bulletin board in areas that they used to go to.