ShanghaiApril 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On April 26, 2026, the TEDxThe Bund Women’s Conference concluded in Shanghai. Seven speakers from diverse fields shared their experiences and observations on-site, offering a women’s conference that did not aim for “breakthroughs,” but instead explored dimensions such as professionalism, relationships, mindset, and self-repair.
When “growth” is increasingly equated with leaps and changes, and when “women’s issues” are often framed within narratives of “how to break through,” TEDxThe Bund chose to shift its perspective to a more long-term question: Could it be that the unamplified, everyday moments are what truly constitute a person?
With the theme “The Light of the Ordinary: The Other Side of the Spotlight,” we do not seek to deny the spotlight, but to ask: Beyond the spotlight, how does a person build their own sense of normalcy over time? Those seemingly calm daily routines encompass choices, relationships, judgments, and repairs. They are not always seen, yet they continuously influence how a person moves forward to farther places.
Speech Highlights
｜Finding Your Own Rhythm on Different Paths｜
“Many people know me because of that moment at the Tokyo Olympics, but looking back now, it was just one moment in a long life. My life has actually always been moving forward on two tracks. I am an athlete, and I have always been a student. At different stages, I constantly face changes and fluctuations, choices and trade-offs, steering the rhythm of my own life. Many people might see this as ‘giving up,’ but for me, it was just about what was more important at that stage. Life is not a line that always goes upward; it requires a series of choices and judgments, slowly climbing through the ups and downs.”
—— Yang Qian
｜Those Seemingly Insignificant Daily Routines Are Deciding the Outcome｜
“We often think that health is a decision made at a critical moment, like noticing a problem, going to the hospital, or getting a check-up. But the truth is, many outcomes are not determined by that one decision of ‘whether to go to the hospital or not,’ but by the daily routines much earlier: whether we talked about changes in our bodies, whether we paid attention to those tiny signals, whether we made things a little easier. These seemingly ordinary, even trivial things are the key to whether a person ends up in the hospital or not. Health is not a decision made at a single moment; it is the result of long-term accumulation.”
—— Mr. Six Floors
｜Between Intimate Relationships and Personal Boundaries, Saying “Yes” to Shared Feelings Is Key｜
“When a person does not have the option to say ‘No,’ then their ‘Yes’ loses its meaning. Many women find that the issue is not that they don’t understand boundaries, but that they often don’t know what they want. Is this my desire, or is it about maintaining the relationship? When relationships are understood as contracts, and when we see our bodies as our own ‘property,’ intimacy becomes like a business deal. ‘Consent’ etymologically means shared feeling. When we say ‘Yes,’ it doesn’t have to be a contract with clear terms; it can be a ‘Yes’ to shared feelings, to shared attempts, to the openness and fluidity of life.”
—— Xie Jing
| In the Unscripted Normality of Life, Rediscovering Oneself |
“In public performance classes, I’ve summed up many female friends, including myself, as not expressing, not being vulnerable, not afraid of trouble, and always holding on. Our problem is not ‘weakness,’ but ‘excessive strength.’ The way we cope with pain in life is similar—whether actively or passively, we stuff ourselves into a competitive mode, thinking that as long as we are strong enough, tough enough, and flawless enough, life won’t knock us down. But the real danger is that after pretending to be strong for too long, you might lose the ability to process emotions.”
—— Liu Tianchi
From left to right: Yang Qian | Chinese female shooting athlete; Mr. Six Floors | Women’s health science author, founder of ‘The Eleventh Clinic,’ former OB/GYN at a top-tier Beijing hospital; Xie Jing | Associate Professor, School of Philosophy, Fudan University, PhD in Philosophy and Social Sciences from EHESS, France; Liu Tianchi | Teacher, Acting Department, Central Academy of Drama
｜Through Repeated Choices and Responsibilities, Becoming the Person I Am Today｜
“From the first day I learned acting until now, I’ve constantly practiced how I should deliver an acceptance speech, but I’ve never used it. I want to save the thanks for later. I hope that one day, whether I wait another 10 or even 20 years, because this profession is what I’ve always persisted in and chosen. As I said, some get it early, some get it late. If you don’t have it yet, it must be on its way. But today, instead of saying thanks, I’ll just give myself a hug.”
—— Kong Lingmei
｜At Life’s Turning Points, We Start Anew｜
“I’ve always been busy with my head down. How is it that when I look up, half my life is already over? It wasn’t until menopause arrived that I realized many things were starting to spiral out of control. During those days, what menopause brought me was an undeniable panic and helplessness. I even desperately thought: Is my career over? But later I understood that menopause is not an endpoint, but an entry ticket, urging you to adjust your mindset and rediscover yourself. Age is not a constraint; experience is armor. The future belongs to those who dare to venture, dare to fight, and dare to reinvent themselves. Time never exits; life always has a new stage.”
—— Li Jing
｜In Unseen Moments, Making Peace with Oneself｜
“What is a spotlight moment? If it’s those moments that are seen, then its other side is the process that others don’t see. The process where I hid in corners, hated myself, and then reconciled with myself. Until I started trying to change. I told myself: Don’t pursue perfection; just a little progress counts as passing. It turns out that taking the first step only made my heart race. The moment I decided to stop hiding, stop denying myself, and stop fearing failure—that was my spotlight moment. Life will always have its twists and turns, but I am trustworthy; I am reliable. Only the light that shines from within will never be extinguished.”
—— Cecilia Yip
From left to right: Kong Lingmei | Founder of Lingmei Culture, actress, director, producer; Li Jing | Chinese TV host, producer, publisher, founder of Oriental风行 Media, founder of Lefeng.com, founder of Star Venture Capital; Cecilia Yip | Actress
When we are accustomed to understanding a person through outcomes, the parts that truly support their formation are often overlooked. But a person’s stability, judgment, and direction are not born from a single visible moment. They come from repeated choices over a longer period—closeness and retreat in relationships, repair and reconstruction in emotions, persistence and adjustment in uncertainty.
What this women’s conference discussed are precisely these underemphasized norms. They are not dramatic, nor always clear, but over time, they gradually constitute a person. TEDxThe Bund hopes that through such discussions, “growth” will no longer be understood as a one-time leap, but as a state that can be felt, practiced, and continuously sustained.
Beyond the spotlight, it is these norms that shape the true and complete form of a woman.
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