New horizons

One year later she decided to quit her nine-to-five job and have a new lifestyle. She usually stays in Beijing to work for about five months to save money, and travels alone as a backpacker at home and abroad for the rest time of the year.

"I want to travel around to broaden my horizon before I'm 30, so I can know what I really want," she says.

She prefers in-depth travel and reads books about the culture and history of the places she goes to in advance.

She lives in a hotel for one or two days and then couch surfs so she can communicate more with the locals. To cover her expenses, she sometimes sells local handicrafts as a street vendor.

It is more like study tours to embrace different knowledge. She learned henna, miniature art and yoga in India, and got a diving certificate in Malaysia.

In August she is setting out again for countries including Sri Lanka, Iran and Egypt.

"Traveling makes me concentrate more on my inner heart and cultivate my mind," she says.

Li wins her customers by word of mouth. She makes an appointment for one or two customers every day, so she has sufficient time to teach painting and do her own things such as brush up her English.

A few shops on the commercial street of Nanluoguxiang invited her to paint henna in front of their stores, but she refused. She knows the great flows of tourists there mean much more income, but she prefers to stay in the peaceful hutong, where she feels more comfortable.

"What I like most is the time when sunshine fills my room in the morning."