Gai Zengchen was born in Dalian where he showed great tactical awareness, and was soon snapped up by Liaoning FC.
His abilities soon saw him called up to the Chinese U-20 team where he played in the 1975 AFC Youth Championship and helped guide China to a quarter-finals finish.
[1] Back with Liaoning he became a regular within their team as they went on to win the 1978 Chinese league title.
[2] During this period Gai received a call-up to the senior national team and was included in the squad that went to the 1980 Asian Cup.
After spending several more years with Liaoning he decided to retire in 1984 where he went back to his studies finishing University.