She was the first Chinese woman to be granted a civil aviation license in China, in 1936, and also co-founded its first civilian flying school.

As an actress, she starred in Romance of the Western Chamber, and played the lead in an early adaptation of Mulan for the screen.

[1][2][3] At the age of sixteen, Li witnessed an airshow in Paris, which left a strong impression on her.

Li began training at the Contran École d'Aviation in Switzerland, where she was the first female student to receive a pilot's license.

Later that year, she returned to China, where she was commissioned by the Chinese government to make a 30,000 mile survey of potential air routes.