Fan Wu grew up on a state-run farm in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province where her parents were exiled during the Cultural Revolution.

[3] Afterwards, she went to work in Shenzhen and Guangzhou, holding varied jobs in government and private sectors for three years before traveling to the United States for graduate studies at Stanford University in late 90s.

The three years of working in China has allowed her to "witness the unprecedented economic boom, as well as the exploitation of workers from poor provinces and the countryside."

[4] Fan writes about China and Chinese immigrants living in the US, with a particular focus on women's life, identity, and multicultural issues.

Her second novel, Beautiful as Yesterday (Simon & Schuster), centers around two sisters who were born and brought up in China but now reside in the United States.

In 2020, she co-founded Society of Heart's Delight (愉园社, Yuyuanshe), a California-based nonprofit to foster understanding and communication between Chinese immigrants and cultural and ethnic groups.