Shi Dan, won the gold medal, wears the national flag, in 2019. [Photo for China Daily]

In June 2015, she won runner-up in men's trend-trimming in the 39th Asian Beauty and Hairdressing Competition.

In 2017, she was selected to join the national training team for hairstyling at the 44th WorldSkills Competition, winning first place in the preliminaries, but she failed to win in the finals.

However, Shi and her team never gave up. "The expert coaching team led by Ji Zhenglong encouraged me. I also paid special attention to summarizing experience and lessons, and strictly followed the training plan. I got up at 6:00 am every morning for a 5-kilometer run for physical training, and then did professional skills training that lasted until 10:00 pm."

Two years later, Shi broke her way to victory and won the 45th World-Skills Competition. Shi recalled the award ceremony, saying that "I was very excited at the time. I felt proud when I stood on the podium and represented the Chinese delegation. I knew this medal did not belong to me, but my coach, my team and my motherland. Without their help, I couldn't have made it."