He became a geological engineer of No. 156 coalfield geological team in Xinjiang after graduation. From the Altai Mountain to the Gangdise Mountain, his footprints covered almost every corner of west China in the next 20 years, including the A-Li region in Tibet, where the altitude is above 5,000 meters.

In a TV documentary about the wind erosion landform "Devil city" located in the northwest Margin of Junggar Basin, Li Yizu is helping a scientific study team to determine rock composition. The life of geographical explorers can be very tough. It's common for them to set off with baggage, gasoline and explosives and stay in the wild for up to more than 1 year. One of his colleagues died during a mission.

Li Yizu as a geological engineer of No. 156 coalfield goelogical team in Xinjiang. [Photo/CRIENGLISH.com]

He says he never regrets his choice. For Li Yizu, there is no place he cannot go.

"We tramped over hills and dales with a map and compass. We tried to reach every corner. Sometimes we walked more than 40 kilometers per day, but we never felt tired. Each time we found mineral products, that kind of happiness was all worth it regardless the hardships behind it."

Working as a geographical explorer made him fall deeply in love with every inch of the ground he has stepped on and also with local people.

"Working outside was easier since there was no shortage of helping hands. Once in 1975, our truck was stuck in a ditch in the middle of nowhere. There was a family approximately one kilometer away - two elderlies and one child, all Kazaks. They helped us pull out the truck. I took pictures of them as a thank-you gift. The old man changed clothes and put a pen in his upper pocket. All of them looked happy."