In the '80s, the Peking University No 3 Hospital had only 20 couples visiting for the purpose of IVF, according to Liu Ping, deputy director, Center of Reproductive Medicine.

Liu, who was a member of the doctors' team credited with Zheng's birth, estimates at least 10,000 babies were born at the hospital through assisted reproduction since 1988.

Following her school years in Longnan, Zheng joined Xijing University in Xi'an city, the capital of neighboring Shaanxi province, for graduation studies.

She began to learn English on campus but wasn't interested enough to pursue it, she says.

In 2009, she moved to Beijing with a job in the information section of the Center of Reproductive Medicine, where her role today involves managing hospital files.

Zheng lives the life of a busy, single woman in a big city, in contrast to her earlier countryside stay in Longnan. She meets her aging parents on Chinese New Year or Tomb-Sweeping Day yearly.

She is open to marriage and having children if she finds love.

"I'm waiting for Mr Right," Zheng says.

But it may be difficult for men to accept her strong personality, she adds, with a self-effacing humor and a seemingly feminist streak both lacing the conversation.

The modern Chinese woman is possibly at crossroads - trying to find a balance between their careers and motherhood - she continues on a more serious note. Her daily experiences at the hospital suggest rural women are still getting married early and becoming mothers in their 20s, while many from the cities are pushing parenthood to a decade later.