Ou Hongyi was born and raised in Guilin, China, a city of scenic surroundings.
Early on, she felt a close bond with the surrounding greenery and as a 16-year-old she decided to take up the fight for the climate and nature.
A central inspiration was the "Fridays for Future" climate strikes inspired by Swedish Greta Thunberg and Ou has in international media come to be called "China's Greta Thunberg".
Ou expresses respect for what she sees as a humility and determination in the Swede but at the same time says that the important thing is not individuals but the message.
A message she has since tried to spread in China.
- We have used different types of activism, we vlog in the city and have carried out sit-in protests outside government buildings, she says in an interview with SVT's Foreign Office.
Arrested by police
It has been an overall lonely struggle for the climate and the now 18-year-old Ou has already paid a high price.
China has set ambitious goals for climate initiatives, but at the same time authorities are skeptical of individual initiatives.
Aware of this, Ou's parents were sharply opposed to her activism, not least out of concern for how it would affect her future prospects.
Eventually she left home, the quarrel simply became too much.
Today she is in Germany to meet other climate activists, but the future is uncertain.
Due to his activism, for example, Ou says he is unable to return to his school.
She was also arrested by Chinese police in connection with a protest in Shanghai in September, which prompted Greta Thunberg to express her support.
- I have expected this type of sacrifice and such reactions from the authorities, says Ou.
- The only thing we can do is face it with courage.
"Government misleads"
In the coming days, China's new five-year economic plan and investments in climate are expected.
When China's leader Xi Jinping announced in the autumn that China will be net carbon neutral by 2060, it also provoked positive reactions from many experts, but Ou does not share that enthusiasm and believes that it is too little.
- The government misleads the public so that it should look as if they are doing something, she says.
This week's episode of the program Foreign Office is about China and its role in the world climate: villain or hero? Watch the program here on SVT Play or 22.00 on Tuesday on SVT2.