Linghu was born in Zhaowuda League (now Chifeng), Inner Mongolia, in October 1946, while his ancestral home in Pinglu County, Shanxi.
He joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in December 1965, and got involved in politics in August 1977, when he was appointed an official in the Dalian Machinery Industry Bureau.
In October 1988, he was transferred to Beijing and appointed director of the General Office of the Ministry of Labor [zh], and one year later he was promoted vice minister, concurrently serving as a member of the State Commission for Economic Restructuring [zh].
[1][3] He also served as chairman of the Yunnan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference between January 1998 and October 2001.
[4] In March 2013, he took office as vice chairperson of the National People's Congress Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee.