1938 – Born as a native of Wuhan, Hubei Province

1962 – joined Communist Party of China (CPC) in April
– began working in August after graduated from the Oil Refinery Department, Beijing Petroleum Institute with major in oil refinery engineering

1988-1991
– elected as deputy mayor of Beijing

1991-1998
– served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade, Minister of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, and a member of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth CPC Central Committees

2002 – Member, 16th CPC, Central Committee, Politboro

2003 – Vice-Premier of the State Council

2003-2005
– around these years she was the Minister of Health

2004 – one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People given the title as "goddess of transparency"