[1] Zhang was born in Changsha, Hunan, while his ancestral home was in Tanghe, Henan.

He left high school in 1971 without completing his studies, and joined the opera troupe of a performing arts group in Dongchuan.

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.