Qin Shanshan is the only female leader in the accident department at the Beijing traffic control and administrative bureau but while women are underrepresented on the payroll, the many awards she has received proves women are every bit as capable as Qin's male colleagues.

In order to help Beijing police work better with foreign visitors during the Olympic Games in 2008, Qin started two years before that time on training more than 300 of her colleagues.

By August 2008, every police officer in Beijing carried an English booklet designed by Qin and thousands of visitors received an English version of Beijing's traffic rules compiled by her.