 In 1978, Zhang was enrolled in the acting department of the Beijing Film Academy with excellent grades.In 1980, when he was a second year student, he was selected by Hong Kong's Phoenix Studio to play Xin Dalei in "Treasure Hunting in Desert" (1980), which was his film debut.A year later, Zhang portrayed Xiangzi in "Rickshaw Boy", a film directed by Ling Zifeng and adapted from a story by Lao She.