The following year, she broke a finger during training and was forced to watch the 1997 World Championships from the stands.

In March 1998 she surprised coaches by winning the American Cup against U.S. hopefuls Vanessa Atler and Kristen Maloney.

Ending up third in the all-around, she also grabbed a silver on the uneven bars, and tied for another second-place finish on floor exercise in event finals.

In March 2012, China forfeited the 1999 World Championship team bronze medals to Ukraine, who placed fourth.

It was discovered in 2008 that China falsified the age of team member Dong Fangxiao, therefore nullifying her results from this competition as well as the 2000 Olympics.