A pause for thought

"From a gynecologist's viewpoint, in addition to paying attention to malignant tumors and acute infections, women are paying more attention to the quality of life," she says.

Last year, at the age of 50, Chen began to experience some of the more obvious menopausal symptoms herself. Hot flushes were no longer just a medical term to her, but a real sensation, like being roasted by a fire. She began to write Better Menopause as a gift to herself and other Chinese women.

"In the first half of our life, society expects us to be good daughters, wives, mothers and employees. During menopause, however, our children may have grown up and we may have achieved various things in our career. We should really think about what we value most, what we want to do most, and how to be a better version of ourselves," she says.

In her book, she recommends that women facing menopause should cultivate some interests, such as calligraphy, music, dance, embroidery or designing clothes and jewelry.

In the process of writing the book, Chen says she saw Chinese astronauts going on missions aboard the Shenzhou spacecraft and noted that they were aged between 40 and 60.

"If astronauts can fly in space at such ages," she says, "why should we limit ourselves?"