[1] Lu established herself at national level in 2008 when she won the Chinese Olympic trials event, improving a personal best by a large margin with a jump of 6.44 m (21 ft 1+1⁄2 in).

She also shared in the 4×100 metres relay silver medal with Chen Lin, Jiang Shan, and Wu Shuijiao (having been upgraded from bronze after Kazakhstan was disqualified).

[17] Turning to the outdoor track and field circuit, she missed the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix meeting, but made her IAAF Diamond League at the Prefontaine Classic in the United States, finishing tenth.

[19] She struggled the following year, failing to register a mark beyond six metres, and lost her title at the 12th National Games of China by ending the contest in eleventh place.

[8][20] Lu returned to action in the 2014 season with her first appearance at the Shanghai Diamond League (coming tenth) and a third-place finish at the IAAF World Challenge Beijing.

[22] Building on her silver from four years earlier, on home soil in Wuhan Lu won the long jump title at the 2015 Asian Athletics Championships by a five-centimetre margin over South Korea's Jung Soon-ok.[23]