An Xiangyi

An was conditioned from infancy by her mother, Zhang Aijun, to excel in figure skating. In a controversial interview published in Esquire China in 2020, Zhang revealed the lengths she'd gone to, to ensure her daughter's success in the sport beginning when she was two months old, including holding her upside down by her legs and spinning her in circles, and leaving her outdoors during freezing temperatures. An began learning how to skate at the age of two and a half in Gaobeidian, trained by Zhang. Zhang further stated that An does not attend school and trains up to 12 hours per day, often motivated by physical punishment.[1]

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all Chinese national competitions were canceled during the 2020–21 season, thus An could not partake in major competitions.[2]

Due to several coronavirus outbreaks and COVID-19 protocols in China, the 2021 National Figure Skating Grand Prix and China Figure Skating Club League Finals (全国花样滑冰具乐部联赛总决赛) were held virtually. In the Club League Finals, An scored 174.08 total points (63.00 in the short program and 111.08 in the free skating) to win the title.[3]

An Xiangyi was assigned to ISU JGP Solidarity Cup 2022 after scoring first in qualification events.[4][5][6]

After infected with COVID-19 and recurrence of injuries, An Xiangyi withdrew from the 2022 Chinese Figure Skating Junior Championships and the 2022 Chinese Figure Skating Club League Finals. However, she later competed in the 2022 Chinese Figure Skating Championships, ranking first in short program by a small 1.73 mark lead after falling on her triple Toe-triple Toe combination.