Whenever she had the time, she would return to her childhood hobby and make bark art, which to her surprise has been growing in popularity as a souvenir since the 2000s, as increased forest protection efforts have given rise to flourishing tourism.

"Initially, I earned just a few thousand yuan a year, but over time that grew to 7,000($967) or 8,000 yuan, which made a big difference to my family income," she says.

In 2017, Xie Caiyun, who ran a bark-picture production business in Bailang town, approached Li and persuaded her to return to the town and help residents upgrade their art as a means of alleviating poverty.

Li accepted Xie's offer to work at the company, which she says was one of the best decisions she ever made.

At the end of 2018, bark art craftsmanship was named a form of regional intangible cultural heritage in Inner Mongolia, and support for its development began to flow.

Li still remembers that there were only a few makers when she first returned to the town and that experts from the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology were invited to give her and other artisans art training in 2019.

"From technique innovations to color matching, from integrating art styles to the use of materials, the training gave us the confidence to experiment, broadened our thinking, and expanded our horizons," Li says.