She is also noted for being maybe the first Mainland Chinese pop singer in a time when foreign musical influences were limited, and when the artists from Taiwan and Hong Kong were the most popular in China.
In these years, Taiwanese and Hong Kong singers such as Teresa Teng were prominent, and fascinated the young people.
[2] When Zhang was a student, she usually sang with a portable recorder when she returned from the school, then, she managed to find a South Korean radio station which played also western music.
She left Beijing and moved temporarily to Guangzhou, where she found a job as a singer in a café.
Yunnan Audiovisual Press, gave a positive response to Zhang's voice recordings and in 1985, she managed to release her debut album.
Her hair and her colorful clothes were qualified as vulgar by the most conservatives, but considered as fresh by the youth.
Her face could be seen nowhere in the media, only the covers of her albums featured photos of her, and the only information her fans could find, were nothing else than her releases.
Despite the high amount of money she earned thanks to her albums, Zhang felt tired, and wanting to do something new.
Singers such as Na Ying, Sun Nan, Sun Yue and Yang Yuying were starting to make a name in the entertainment world and some famous singers such as Faye Wong, had returned to the mainland, working with local producers such as Zhang Yadong.
Her 1996 album entitled "Let's Rock" was characterised by a Pop-Rock style and a harder sound compared to her previous works.
This album discovered a new creative face of Zhang because for first time, it included sad songs.