From 1988 to 1992, she studied ecology at Lanzhou University. In her sophomore year she conducted field research in a forest. A year later, she got the chance to embark on a study of the grasslands.

"Wandering around the forest is fun, but when I lie down on the grasslands under the blue sky, it feels like home," Xin says.

She recalls a day when she was standing on the grasslands after the rain had stopped, she caught sight of the mountains in the distance layered with different colors－the green grasslands below, then the purple-brown rhododendron bushes, the red bald mountain, followed by its white snow-capped peak topped off with a white cloud hat.

"This image is so etched in my mind that it always reminds me of why I love the grasslands," says Xin.

Throughout her bachelor and doctorate years, she spent her summers visiting many grassland.

"As a 21-year-old I visited the Gannan grasslands. At 22, I went to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Aged 25 to 27 I visited the Songnen Plain, and at 28 I traveled to the grasslands in the mountain regions of southern China. At the age of 29, I was in Hulunbuir," Xin says. "Each grassland has its own personality."

Field work on the grasslands involved a lot of driving, and Xin spent hours chatting with the driver and watching the road.