[1] Zhang was born in Changsha, Hunan in November 1958, while his ancestral home in Liling, Zhuzhou.
In September 1987, he was accepted to the University of Science and Technology Beijing, where he received his doctor of engineering degree in October 1993.
In February 1982, he became an assistant at Wuhan University of Science and Technology, he served for a total of five years.
He joined the faculty of the University of Science and Technology Beijing in October 1995, what he was promoted to professor in 1995 and to doctoral supervisor in 1998.
In 2000 Anthony Mason Fellowship financed his research at the School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales.