Yi shakes hands with a local famer at Tamin Chagan Desert, also nicknamed "the sea of death" in Hure Banner, Tongliao City of Inner Mongolia, in 2004. The old man at the time expressed his gratitude to Yi, but unfortunately died from cancer the following year. Yi then realized that the area's local residents were in fact living in poor conditions and did not even have the resources to heat up a room. She hopes that these people will at least be able to burn tree branches for warmth after her planted trees are fully grown.