Her breakthrough came alongside the Chinese economic reform in 1986 when she won both the National Young Singers contest in China, and the 24th Sopot International Song Festival in Poland.

[17] The haute-couture dress designed for Wei by Lars Wallin for the '08 Olympics is on permanent display at the Nordic Museum in Sweden.

[20] As a young unit member her education included dancing, singing, playing instruments, choreography, stage design, and lighting.

[16] In 1986, Wei won the National Young Singers contest on Chinese television with the song Wanna Take One More Chance to Look at You.

[21][22][23] In 1986 at the age of she was awarded a "2nd Level National Performer Professional Qualification Certificate" by the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China.

[30] The song quickly became another national hit, and Wei was dubbed the "Queen of Sports" by the Provincial Government of Guangxi, Liuzhou.

[31] That same year, she starred in the film The Story of A Songstress alongside Chinese actor Zhang Guoli and Jiang Lili;[32][33] and performed at the Miss Asia Pageant show in Hong Kong in 1992, also becoming the lead singer in the first concert tour in American major cities arranged by the China Central Song and Dance Group.

The year after in 1997, Wei entered into a one-year endorsement agreement with American hair care company Nioxin, becoming its product ambassador in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

[49] At a show for the international unveiling of China's Olympic slogan "One World, One Dream", she performed Andrew Lloyd Webber's song Love Changes Everything.

[52][53] In 2006, she celebrated twenty years on stage with the publication of her biography The New Wei, My New Way, written by Swedish author Catarina Lilliehöök.

She also released worldwide on digital download distributor iTunes Music Store, and commenced an international tour for the celebration of the Chinese New Year, which included performances in Los Angeles, Vienna, Barcelona, and Roger's Center in Toronto, where she was welcomed by China's Ambassador to Canada, Lu Shumin and Consulate General of Toronto Chen Xiaoling.

The show was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on 18 January, and included a duet from Wei and classical-crossover soprano Giorgia Fumanti.

[69] In 2014, Wei competed in I Am a Singer (Chinese season 2) alongside Phil Chang, Gary Chaw, G.E.M., Han Lei and others.

[72][73][74] On February 18, 2022, Wei's online encouragement of her eldest son Symington to "learn from" Olympic skier Eileen Gu became a trending topic on Weibo and made headlines in the Chinese press.

[78][79] In 2024, Wei chaired the 2024 Yale Sinovation Forum at the Yale Center Beijing, promoting and discussing the role of women in entrepreneurship,[80] and performed at China's Strawberry Music Festival, with a lineup including American indie pop band The Drums and Chinese singers Zhao Lei and Wowkie Zhang.

"[98] Kristoger Stenneberg wrote for DiEgo, a Swedish magazine that " Wei has a dark, almost masculine voice when speaking which suddenly becomes absent when singing.

Her voice is a blend between Kylie Minogue and Ann Sofie von Otter",[99] also remarking that "In China, the military stands double file to hold back her screaming fans.

She's rightly regarded by her government as a national treasure.”[101] Commenting on Wei's duet with Julio Iglesias at the East Asian Games, Swedish journalist Per Nillson wrote in Expressen "The high point for the jubilant masses was when Iglesias tried to sing in Chinese - a language he learnt from Wei, who also credits him with being a great student.

"[102] Interviewing Wei for Svenska Dagbladet, journalist Adam Svanell described her as an "unwilling superstar who never dreamed of being a popstar" and a "most secret world artist".