Hailing from Anhui Province,[1] she began long jumping at national level in 2002 and her first major competition was the 10th Chinese Games in 2005, where she ranked thirteenth.

[14] Her year's best jump came in Jinan in October, clearing 6.58 m,[6] but she did not manage to reach this form at the 2009 Asian Athletics Championships, where she had to settle for silver behind Filipino Marestella Torres.

[15] She attempted a title defence at the 2009 Asian Indoor Games, but again she did not produce a strong performance and her jump of 6.27 m left her out of the medals in fourth place.

[16] Chen ended the year with a gold medal on the regional stage, defeating Japan's Saeko Okayama to win at the 2009 East Asian Games.

[2] Chen failed to clear six metres at the 2010 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships, but this was still sufficient for a runner-up finish in a below-standard competition.