In 1976, Chen was selected by China women's national volleyball team to play as a setter. Coached by Yuan Weimin, the team won its first Asian championship in 1979. In 1981, the team won the FIVB Volleyball Women's World Cup for the first time, and Chen played a key role in that victory, together with her teammate and close friend Lang Ping. The following year, the team won the 1982 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship in Peru. The team won three more world titles in the next four years and its members were hailed as national heroes in China. Chen retired in 1983 as a player and was an assistant coach for the team when it won the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Beginning in 1983, she studied at Beijing Institute of Physical Education.