Every spring, Yi Jiefang plants trees in China's Inner Mongolia in the hope of holding back the spreading deserts and sandstorms, because greening the area was the wish of her only beloved, late child.
Yi's son, Yang Ruizhe, died in a traffic accident in Tokyo in May 2000. The 22-year-old student at Chuo University was on a motorcycle heading to his part-time job after class when the accident occurred.
"I was in the depths of sorrow for a long time," the 60-year-old Yi said in an interview in Tokyo. Her grief was so deep that she was not capable of doing anything — until she recalled Yang's dream.