He became the only second Chinese after actress Gong Li to be awarded the title since 2001.
[1][2] The first Kunqu opera singer in China to focus on revitalizing and promoting the ancient art form to a younger generation which he first started in universities and schools in 1998, Zhang's dream is to bring "Kunqu to an international stage" for people everywhere in the world to appreciate this ancient Chinese art.
Currently in London and New York on a one-man contemporary performance of I, Hamlet, which is an adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet, he plays four key roles telling the classic tale through a Kunqu monologue.
[3][4] Born to farmers, Zhang grew up in Shanghai's Qingpu District.
At 12, he was the only boy selected from 2,000 candidates by the Shanghai Traditional Opera School to learn the traditional opera Kunqu which he trained intensively for eight years.