Liu Ting made herself up and changed her clothes before agreeing to an interview in Guangzhou, East China's Guangdong province, April 7. [Photo/CFP]

Her secret was once only shared with her mother, Lu Yongmin, who wondered whether it was years of attending to her illness that had fostered Liu's feminine characteristics.

Although blaming herself, Lu asked Liu to maintain the secrecy despite the latter's desire to become a woman.

"I waited to see if she became 'normal' when grown up. She is a national moral model. What would others say if her gender identity problem was exposed? "

The conflict ended on Dec 12, 2013 when Lu accompanied Liu to see a psychologist who diagnosed her as congenital gender dysphoria.

Lu changed her mind. "If I continued to set myself against Liu, I would lose my only child. I believed society will understand and accept her eventually."

The decisive moment came on August 14 last year when Liu announced at a press conference that she would undergo transsexual surgery, a move signifying that she was to finally face her true self.