Zhou Lin began his professional football career when he was able to break into the Chongqing Lifan first-team during the 1999 league season after previously playing for their youth team.
Under head coach Lee Jang-Soo he was able to quickly establish himself within the team and even help Chongqing win the 2000 Chinese FA Cup, however once Lee Jang-Soo left Chongqing found themselves struggling to remain within the top tier.
Despite Chongqing constantly struggling within the league and several managerial changes Zhou Lin would still remain a constant regular first-team member within the team until Chongqing were finally relegated in the 2006 league season and were willing to let Zhou Lin leave the club.
[2] Returning to the top tier Zhou Lin immediately helped establish Guangzhou within the league and saw them finish middle of the table.
The following season was, however, to prove more difficult for him as head coach Shen Xiangfu preferred using different defenders that saw his playing time limited.