Li has specialised in addressing the needs of the countless street children who are sent into the big cities of China by their parents. There they are placed under the ‘care’ of harsh and brutal ‘bosses’ in order to earn money for their impoverished families who cannot afford to send them to school. Some of these children are as young as eight; the majority are in their teens. Li goes out during the day, and late at night, when the children are working either washing cars, selling flowers, or playing music, and gives them the opportunity to have a hot meal, warm clothing, and tend to their medical needs if necessary.

The children are kept in terrible conditions in dirt floor housing without heating, sanitation, or running water; consequently they are dirty, prone to head lice, and skin diseases such as scabies. Food, consisting of one bowl of rice a day, is withheld from these children if they do not make any money for their bosses. At the time of the Chinese New Year, the children return home to see their parents with the small amount of cash that they have earned. They stay for a few weeks with their families and the whole cycle is repeated again.

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