Chen was born in Guangde County,
Anhui Province. In 1949, she studied in the Department of Horticulture,
Zhejiang University. In 1953, she graduated from the Department of Horticulture, Zhejiang Agricultural College (previous and current Zhejiang University. Chen has worked in
Beijing for a long time. Chen is a main founder of the modern Beijing Vegetable Research Center (BVRC; 北京蔬菜研究中心), and she is the current Director of the center. Chen is the Vice-president and a researcher of the Beijing Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (). She is also a part-time
professor at Zhejiang University. == Recognition ==