Gao's first major international appearance was at the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing, China, where she won the silver medal in women's taijiquan. A year later, she competed at the 1991 World Wushu Championships also held in Beijing, and became the first world champion in women's taijiquan. She then won a gold medal at the 1992 Asian Wushu Championships in Seoul, Korea. A year later, Gao won the women's taijiquan gold medal at the 1993 East Asian Games in Shanghai, China. Following this, she became a member of the sports committee of the 8th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference from 1993 to 1998.
