Is DNA testing worth it if you already know where your ancestors are from?

[Katiethegreat]

Yes for sure,I found many ancestral ties I had no record for.

[twnxn]

I did DNA tests with 23andMe, Ancestry DNA and FTDNA, despite knowing where both of my parents are from. My parents are both from Taiwan. I was born in the US. I did it because these tests can reveal things from several hundred years back or mixes that I may not be aware of. I know both sides of my family have lived in Taiwan for at least 8-9 generations. My father's side came to Taiwan from Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, China, 8 generations ago (I have genealogical records of my father's side of the family). We are self-described as "Han Taiwanese" who have ancestry from China. But, the Han people of China are in reality a mix of various groups within China. I was able to transfer my 23andMe raw data to sites like WeGene which further broke down my Han ancestry, as well as transfer the data to GedMatch, etc. Thus, despite knowing where both sides of my family came from, I still was able to find new things. I also find the DNA Relative matches interesting. I was able to connect with a 3rd-4th cousin whom I would have never known to have existed had I not tested with 23andMe. Incidentally she and her father both come from the same exact town as my father does in Taiwan- thus I best educated guess is we are related through my father's side. We did find out through exchanging photos that her grandmother and my paternal grandmother were cousins and happened to be sitting next to each other in an old black and white photo during a relative's wedding. Thus, I would say DNA testing is still worth it.