They have captured over thirty top tier events since 2001, sharing dominance at the world level with their Chinese teammates and rivals Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen.

Huang and Gao have been especially successful at the All-England Championships, winning a record six consecutive finals there, three of them over Yang and Zhang, from 2001 through 2006.

They reached the final of five consecutive editions of the BWF World Championships; winning in 2001, 2003, and 2006, and finishing second to Yang and Zhang in 2005 and 2007.

Neither team figured in the medals at the 2008 Olympics (won by another Chinese pair, Du Jing and Yu Yang).

Huang has been a member of China's perennial world champion Uber Cup (women's international) team since 2002.