Xu Fengxia was born in Shanghai and began learning the pipa at the age of seven from a folk musician. In 1978, she studied the sanxian at the middle school affiliated with the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and in 1980 she was admitted to the Shanghai Conservatory, where she studied with Professor Li Yi (sanxian and guzheng). At the same time, she received guqin training from masters Wei Zhongle, Lin Youren, and Zhang Ziqian, and studied composition with Hu Dengtiao. In 1984, she presented her first solo concert of Chinese traditional instruments at the “Shanghai Spring” festival, and further deepened her foundation in traditional music by studying northern Chinese narrative and drum traditions (Meihua Dagu and Jingyun Dagu) under Bai Fenglin.

In 1985, she became a sanxian soloist with the Shanghai National Orchestra and gave numerous concerts in Shanghai, Beijing, and Singapore on sanxian, guzheng, and guqin. In 1988, she participated in one of China’s earliest female electric bands as a singer and guitarist. From 1990, she began collaborating with German jazz musicians and presented a new jazz concert at the Shanghai People’s Theatre, marking an early exploration of improvisation with Chinese traditional instruments. After moving to Germany in 1991, Xu Fengxia collaborated extensively with leading figures in free improvisation, including Peter Kowald, Baby Sommer, Peter Brötzmann, Hamid Drake, Phil Minton, and Lucas Niggli, and performed at major international festivals. In addition to her strong foundation in Chinese traditional music, she premiered numerous works by contemporary Chinese composers such as Tan Dun, Qu Xiaosong, Xu Shuya, Chen Xiaoyong, Zhou Long, and Chen Yi, influencing the development of new instrumental techniques and sonic approaches. She has also collaborated with European ensembles and orchestras such as the BR Orchestra, Ensemble Recherche, Ensemble Amsterdam, the Bremer Kammerphilharmonie, and the BBC Choir.

Since the 2000s, she has initiated and developed a wide range of intercultural projects and ensembles. In 2006, she founded the “Two Generation Chinese Traditional Music Ensemble” and organized a European tour featuring major Chinese musicians. In 2007, she created the project “Tianguo,” in which Chinese mythological themes were presented through children’s music theatre and free improvisation in collaboration with European artists. In 2008, she established the “Qianxingzhe Improvising Ensemble,” bringing together musicians across generations, cultures, and musical backgrounds. In the following years, she formed and participated in numerous intercultural projects such as “Black Lotus,” “Shanghai Blue Sky Quartet,” “Ming Wu Xu,” “East-West Confluence,” “Shang Ensemble,” and the interdisciplinary music theatre project “Xingzhe,” with performances in both China and Europe.

Her artistic language continuously develops through the integration of Chinese regional opera elements, percussive speech traditions, Mongolian overtone singing, and Tibetan chant with jazz rhythms and free improvisation. Based on the unique sound world of Chinese instruments, she has created a distinctive form in which voice and instrument merge, offering audiences a performance experience that transcends cultural and geographical boundaries.

Her major achievements include the Second Prize at the Shanghai Young Musicians Competition in 1985 and the German jazz award “Essen Jazz Pott” in 2009, making her the first Chinese musician to receive this distinction. Her recordings have received awards in Germany, and she has been featured in various radio and television productions.