Li was born on 7 July 1955 in Suzhou, Jiangsu, but is considered a native of her ancestral hometown, Wendeng, Shandong, by Chinese convention.

[1][2] Reflecting on her military life, she said the army had too many rules and did not suit her personality, and she decided to pursue a film career.

[1] Li's 1990 film Bloody Morning was a great success, winning multiple awards in China, Taiwan, France, and Germany, including the Golden Montgolfiere at the 1992 Three Continents Festival in Nantes.

[3] In 1994, she directed the film Blush (Hongfen), adapted from Su Tong's eponymous novel about two Shanghai prostitutes at the time of Liberation in 1949.

[5] With the 2004 film Baober in Love, Li broke the mode of her previous works and ventured into the realm of magical realism.