Coach Shui Qingxia said on Friday she hoped the Women's World Cup will help usher a new dawn for China, starting with a "very significant" opening match against Denmark in Perth.
China were an early powerhouse at the showpiece event, finishing fourth in 1995 and then runners-up to the United States in 1999.
But they've failed to get past the quarterfinals since, and were knocked out in the round of 16 at the 2019 event in France.
Overtaken by several European nations, China's status as a women's football heavyweight diminished, but a surprise triumph at last year's Asian Cup ended a 16-year title drought.
Qingxia, China's first woman head coach, hoped the momentum would reignite their status as a world force.
"I want this to be a fresh start for this generation," she told reporters ahead of China's opener on Saturday.
"I hope we can give our best performance in this tournament. Everything has a start, I think.
"I think in the past, (our) players played under a lot of pressure (at World Cups).
"We need to enjoy the game of football and our teammates."
The Steel Roses face the tough task emerging from Group D headlined by title contenders England, seemingly raising the stakes for the match between 13th ranked Denmark and 14th China.
"This game will be very significant," Qingxia said. "(But) we will play each game at a time to get the results and experience we need."
Denmark coach Lars Sondergaard, however, preferred to play down the match's importance.
"We don't see it that way. I don't see it as a decider yet," he said, with Haiti also pitted in the group.
"You have to pay respect to Haiti, they could play a part in it.
"The importance of this game is obvious because it is the first game of the tournament."
Denmark will end a 16-year World Cup absence with their bid for a deep run seemingly resting on star striker Pernille Harder, who has returned from hamstring surgery.
Sondergaard declared Harder, who recently departed Chelsea to join Bayern Munich, fit and cautioned opponents not to focus their attention on her.
"We know most opponents will be looking at her... sometimes she can decide matches on her own," he said.
"We've had about six months to practice playing without Pernille when she was injured.
"It's not enough to just cover Pernille now because others will find the space that she leaves open."